Zelenskyy to UN: Stop Russia's war now or face destructive arms race

UNITED NATIONS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on world powers on Wednesday to work together to stop Russia's war in his country, accusing Russian President Putin of seeking to expand the fighting beyond Ukraine.

He said in a speech to the 193-member UNGA that the war had helped unleash the most destructive arms race in history and that Ukraine was moving to open up the export of its weapons to allies. "The facts are simple, stopping this war ... is cheaper than building underground kindergartens or massive bunkers for critical infrastructure later," he said.

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He pointed to alleged airspace violations by Russian drones and fighter jets in Nato's Poland and Estonia as evidence that Putin was testing new boundaries in the war in Ukraine. If Putin isn't stopped now, the Ukrainian president warned the assembly that he will keep driving the war forward, "wider and deeper." "Ukraine is only the first, and now Russian drones are already flying across Europe, and Russian operations are already spreading across countries," he said.

Zelensky said neighbouring Moldova is defending itself from Russian interference and should not be allowed to move toward dependency on Russia as Georgia and Belarus are. "Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova, too," he said, stressing the country needs funding and energy support, not just "political gestures."