Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to UN: Russia should be removed from Security Council

UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, IS IN NEW YORK THIS WEEK. THE WAR TIME LEADER SPOKE TO THE UN’S GENERAL ASSEMBLY, PLEADING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL BODY TO REMOVE RUSSIA FROM ITS SECURITY COUNCIL.

Zelenskyy: Each decade, Russia starts a new war. Parts of Moldova and Georgia remain occupied. Russia turned Syria into ruins. And [if not for] Russia, the chemical weapons would have never been used there in Syria. Russia has almost swallowed Belarus, and is obviously threatening Kazakhstan and now the Baltic States. And the goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our lands, our people, our lives, our resources into a weapon against you. Against the international rules based order

AS A PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL, RUSSIA IS CHARGED WITH KEEPING THE PEACE INTERNATIONALLY; A CHARGE VLADIMIR PUTIN FLATLY DISCARDED WHEN HE ORDERED THE ILLEGAL ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA IN 2014, AND THEN THE FULL-SCALE INVASION OF UKRAINE IN 2022.

ZELENSKYY MAY HAVE SHARED SOME STRONG WORDS WITH THE UN, BUT HE NEEDS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. SO, THE TONGUE LASHING IS ABOUT ALL HE CAN AFFORD TO GIVE. NEW DATA SHOWS FROM JANUARY OF LAST YEAR THROUGH JULY OF THIS YEAR, UKRAINE RECEIVED HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN MILITARY, FINANCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN AID FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES. THE UNITED STATES HAS GIVEN THE MOST OF ANY ONE COUNTRY, BUT THE EU’S TOTAL COMMITMENTS TO UKRAINE ARE NOW SURPASSING THOSE OF THE U.S.

THERE ARE QUESTIONS, THOUGH, ABOUT WHETHER ALL THAT AID IS GETTING TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST. RECENT REVELATIONS IN UKRAINIAN MEDIA SHOWED GRAFT IN MILITARY SPENDING THERE. ZELENSKYY PROMISED INTERNATIONAL ALLIES AND PARTNERS NONE OF THE GRAFTING INVOLVED FOREIGN AID. OLEKSII REZNIKOV STEPPED DOWN AS UKRAINE’S DEFENSE MINISTER A FEW WEEKS AGO AMID THE ALLEGATIONS. AND THIS WEEK, ALL SIX DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTERS SUBMITTED THEIR RESIGNATIONS AS WELL.

ALL OF THIS DOESN’T MEAN INTERNATIONAL AND U.S. AID TO UKRAINE WILL STOP, THOUGH. AFTER ALL, THERE IS STILL A WAR GOING ON AND INNOCENT CIVILIANS ARE BEING MASSACRED.

PRESIDENT BIDEN IS WORKING TO GET AN ADDITIONAL AID PACKAGE PUSHED THROUGH CONGRESS WORTH MORE THAN $20 BILLION. AND THE MUCH ANTICIPATED M1A1 ABRAMS TANKS SHOULD BE DEFENDING UKRAINIAN SOIL ANY DAY NOW.

UKRAINE’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE IS DEFINITELY STARTING TO PICK UP THE PACE, ON MULTIPLE FRONTS AND IN MULTIPLE DOMAINS. NEAR BAKHMUT, UKRAINE’S ARMED FORCES DROVE RUSSIAN TROOPS OUT OF TWO NEARBY VILLAGES AND CONTINUE TO ENCIRCLE RUSSIAN POSITIONS IN BAKHMUT. THE CITY ISN’T MUCH MORE THAN RUBBLE, BUT RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA HAS TOUTED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CITY SO MUCH AND THE RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES EXPENDED SO MANY RESOURCES IN CAPTURING IT, UKRAINE TAKING IT BACK WOULD DEAL ANOTHER DEVASTATING BLOW TO RUSSIAN LOGISTICS AND MORALE.

THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR SAID RUSSIA’S TROOPS IN AND AROUND BAKHMUT ARE LIKELY BATTLE-WEARY. THE ISW SAID IT WILL BE EXTREMELY HARD FOR RUSSIAN TROOPS IN BAKHMUT TO GET RESUPPLIED, AND RUSSIAN DEFENSES IN THE AREA WILL CONTINUE TO DEGRADE.

WINTER IS FAST APPROACHING, THOUGH, WHICH MEANS TROOP MOVEMENTS WILL BE IMPEDED. UKRAINE SAYS ITS GOAL IS STILL TO PUSH THROUGH RUSSIAN DEFENSIVE LINES TO THE SEA OF AZOV BY THE END OF THE YEAR, CUTTING RUSSIAN FORCES IN HALF AND OPENING UP MOST OCCUPIED TERRITORIES TO UKRAINIAN AIR STRIKES.

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