Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Wednesday for the “just punishment” of Russia for its war against his country.
In a recorded address to the UN General Assembly, Zelenskyy said a crime has been committed against Ukraine and “we demand just punishment.”
“A special tribunal should be created to punish Russia for the crime of aggression against our state,” he said.
“This will serve as a signal to all would-be aggressors that they must value peace or be brought to responsibility by the world,” he added.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine will appeal to the UN General Assembly to support an “international compensation mechanism.”
“We count on your support. Russia should pay for this war with its assets. It is also a punishment. It’s one of the most terrible punishments for Russian officials, who value money above everything else,” he said.
He said the world wants peace in his country, but there is “only one entity” among all UN member states that was happy with the war, pointing to Russian President Vladimir Putin without naming him.
“Ukraine wants peace. Europe wants peace. The world wants peace,” he said.
The Ukrainian president said his country is using its right to self-defense and showing strength in the war.
Zelenskyy called for the isolation of Russia from international organizations and for Russia to be stripped of its veto right at the UN Security Council and reiterated his call for recognizing it as a “state sponsor of terrorism.”
Pointing to the need to restore security in his country and its territorial integrity, Zelenskyy said “global security cannot be restored without restoring the territorial integrity of the nation, which has suffered from armed aggression.”
In response to Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia and annexation referendums in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Zelenskyy said “they talk about the (peace) talks but announce a military mobilization. They talk about the talks but announce pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine.”
Russia wants to spend the winter in territories of occupied Ukraine to prepare for new offensives, he added.
Earlier Wednesday, Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia, calling up 300,000 reservists to join the army for probable deployment to Ukraine, where it launched a “special military operation” in February.
He also vowed to use “all means” at the country’s disposal if Russia’s territorial integrity is in danger, which was widely interpreted as a nuclear warning to the West.
-AA