In brief
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the UN General Assembly, urging global allies to present a unified stance against Russian aggression, cautioning that further inaction could lead to increased threats to multiple nations. Zelensky emphasized the pressing need for collective security measures amidst escalating military technology and highlighted the fragility of international institutions. His remarks come as tensions rise following comments from US President Donald Trump hinting at Ukraine's potential to reclaim its territory from Russia, shifting previously held positions.
Vladimir Putin will keep driving the war forward wider and deeper if he is not stopped, Ukraine's President Zelensky has warned.
Speaking at the UN's General Assembly in New York, Zelensky said more countries would be met with Russian aggression unless allies displayed a united front and ramped up support.
He said all nations were threatened by a global arms race, as military technology advances, adding that weapons decide who survives and calling for global rules on AI.
His comments come after US President Donald Trump shifted his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying for the first time that Ukraine could win back all of its land.
Zelensky criticised international institutions, suggesting they are too weak to offer Ukraine safety guarantees, adding - in apparent reference to Nato - that being part of a long-standing military alliance doesn't automatically mean you are safe.
We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, he said.
He argued that stopping Russia now was cheaper than wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead.
Zelensky called for international rules around AI and its role in weaponry, and said the development of autonomous drones and unmanned planes represented a far greater risk than traditional warfare.
The Ukrainian leader also warned that Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova - which lies between Ukraine and EU-member Romania - to Russian influence. He said the West had missed a chance to save Georgia and Belarus from Putin's orbit.
Last week, Estonia and Poland requested a consultation with other Nato members after Russia violated its airspace in separate incidents. Romania, another Nato member, also said Russian drones breached its airspace.
Earlier on Tuesday, following his speech to the UN, Trump said Nato nations should shoot down Russian planes breaching their airspace, following the recent incursions by Russian fighter jets and drones.
Zelensky praised Donald Trump and said he had a good meeting with the US president.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov responded: Russia is in no way a tiger. It's more associated with a bear. And there is no such thing as a paper bear.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, marking the highest-level US encounter with Russia since Trump invited Putin to Alaska last month.
According to a brief statement from the US State Department, Rubio reiterated Trump's call for the killing to stop and the need for Moscow to take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war.
