War in Ukraine day 573 Zelensky is expected for the first time at the UN podium (United Nations) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take the UN podium for the first time on Tuesday, facing a fragmented international community shaken by serial crises, most notably Russia’s invasion of his country.
Amélie BOTTOLLIER-AFTER Agence France-Presse
what you need to know
- Three civilians were killed in a Russian bombing in the city of Kupiansk on Tuesday;
- Ukraine said its air defense had shot down 27 Shahed-type drones launched overnight during a Russian airstrike;
- Russia launched a drone attack early Tuesday against Lviv, destroying three warehouses and leaving at least one dead and one injured;
- The Ukrainian counteroffensive is “steadily progressing” and will soon be supported by the arrival ashore of Abrams heavy tanks;
- kyiv on Tuesday asked the International Court of Justice to force Moscow to pay it “reparations”;
- A ship carrying wheat abandoned a Ukrainian port on the Black Sea, despite repeated threats from Moscow to attack the ships.
A year ago, he received exceptional authorization to intervene via video message.
This time he will be there in person, for the high-level session of the annual United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday and a special meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday, before leaving for Washington, where he will be received at the White House on Thursday. .
“It is very important for us that our words, all our messages, are heard by our partners,” he said Monday while meeting with Ukrainian soldiers wounded on the front lines at a New York hospital.
“Ukraine will present a concrete proposal to UN Member States on how to strengthen the principle of territorial integrity and improve the UN’s ability to thwart and stop aggression,” he said on X (formerly Twitter).
Since the Russian invasion, an overwhelming majority of countries have adopted several resolutions in the UN General Assembly supporting Ukraine and its territorial integrity or calling for Russia’s withdrawal.
But after a year and a half of war and cascading impacts on the world, particularly on food security, certain countries in the South are advocating for a diplomatic solution.
“I am aware that for some leaders it is important to find a peaceful solution,” said European Council President Charles Michel. But “for this peace to be lasting, it must respect the principles” of the UN, he moderated.
In this context, the intervention on the podium by the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be closely followed. Then a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled for Wednesday in New York, the Brazilian presidency said.
Unlike several Western powers, Brazil has never imposed financial sanctions on Russia or agreed to supply munitions to Kiev, and the country is trying to position itself, like China and Indonesia, as a mediator.
Moscow, for its part, showed its confidence in Beijing’s support, highlighting the “similar” positions of the two capitals regarding the United States and the Ukrainian conflict, after an exchange between the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, and his Chinese. his counterpart Wang Yi.
“New cracks”
As is tradition, the Brazilian will be the first head of state to speak. He will be followed in particular by US President Joe Biden and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is trying to revive the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea, or even South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“Biden’s speech to the UN comes at a time of transition in the international system,” commented Michael Hanna of the International Crisis Group.
“And many U.N. members criticize the yawning gap between U.S. promises to help address challenges like climate change adaptation and the limited ways the U.S. is investing in it,” he said. “Biden needs to assure his audience that the United States will really help them deal with their problems, like the mountains of debt.”
As a prelude to Monday’s General Assembly, developing countries reminded the rest of the world of their promises to improve the lot of humanity by 2030, insisting in particular on a reform of the international financial architecture.
A request reiterated by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who remains concerned about an increasingly fragmented world.
“Today we see that new fissures are opening in the world. “Imperialism shows its disgusting face,” commented German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Apart from the United States, no other permanent members of the Security Council (France, United Kingdom, China, Russia) will be represented at the highest level during this annual mass.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi will be on the podium on Tuesday, as his country and the United States have just carried out a rare prisoner exchange, within the framework of an agreement that includes the transfer of $6 billion of frozen funds to Tehran.
