Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to compel Russia to make peace with Ukraine, while denouncing Iran and North Korea as “accomplices” in the ongoing war, AFP reports.
“Russia can only be forced into peace, and that is exactly what must be done: force Russia to make peace,” Zelensky stated during a Security Council session focused on Ukraine, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
In his speech, Zelensky pointed a finger at Iran and North Korea, accusing them of aiding Russia’s war machine with weapons that are being used to kill Ukrainians.
“Russia has no legitimate reason—absolutely none—to make Iran and North Korea de facto accomplices in its criminal war in Europe. Their weapons are killing our people,” said the Ukrainian president, who has become the face of Ukraine’s war effort since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
On the same day, a Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, left at least three people dead and over 30 injured, according to local authorities.
During the Security Council session, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the international community to condemn the military support provided by Tehran and Pyongyang to Moscow.
“The backing from Tehran and Pyongyang helps Russian President Vladimir Putin carry out massacres, inflict suffering, and bring ruin to innocent Ukrainian men, women, and children,” Blinken declared.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, meanwhile, rejected U.S. accusations, affirming that China is not part of the conflict and, on the contrary, supports peace efforts.
“China did not cause the Ukraine crisis and is not involved in it. China stands firmly on the side of peace,” Wang Yi stated, distancing Beijing from any allegations of military support to Russia.
