Виступ Президента під час загальних дебатів Генеральної Асамблеї ООН у Нью-Йорку
Dear Gentlemen Leaders!
Dear friends and all those who may become our friends, because you are as eager for security and peace as we are.
Today, no one can guarantee security except ourselves. Only a strong alliance. Only a strong partner. Only our own weapons. Twenty-first century is not much different from the past. If a nation desires peace, it must still commit itself to arming itself. This is not normal, but this is reality. Not international law, not cooperation – but weapons determine who can survive.
Distinguished Excellencies!
You know very well that if there are no strong friends who are truly willing to defend international law, international law will not be able to function fully. Even then, without weapons, nothing will happen.
None of the Ukrainians would choose such a reality. Moreover, knowing our people knows that they will choose other priorities. The Ukrainians are a peace-loving nation. But this is a desire to live – to live freely – in their own independent country. That’s why we invest in national defense.
Peoples can appeal to their suffering on such a table, but even during the period of bloodshed conflict, no international agency can really stop those institutions that have become so weak and powerless.
What can Sudan, Somalia, Palestine or other peoples experiencing war expect from the United Nations and the global system? For decades-only statements. Even what has happened in Gaza remains unresolved.
Even now, after going through all the changes, Syria still has to ask the world to ease the sanctions to stifle its economy.It has to beg and wait.
And while the war waged by Russia against our country lasts, people are killed every week. However, a ceasefire could not be achieved because Russia refused to agree.
Russia has kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children. We have successfully brought some children home, thank you to everyone who lent a helping hand. But how long will it take for all the children to return home? Childhood goes by far faster than the pace of adult rescue.
Look at Israel.Nearly two years have passed and the hostages have not yet been released.They must be released.
Over the years, there has always been a lack of tangible and effective response to other threats — chemical weapons and using hunger as weapons.
At this conference last year, I warned the world of the risk of radiation catastrophe, especially due to the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. But nothing changed. Nothing changed. Yesterday, the nuclear power plant fell into a state of power outage again. Russia has not even stopped shelling the area around the nuclear power plant. This madness continues precisely because of the weakness and incompetence of international institutions.
Even joining a long-standing military alliance cannot automatically obtain security guarantees. Not long ago, 19 ordinary Russian drones violated Polish airspace, of which only four were shot down. Fortunately, these are not "witness" suicide drones or more dangerous weapons, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable.
Estonia was forced to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council-for the first time in history-because Russian fighter jets deliberately violated its airspace.
Moldova is defending itself against Russian interference again. We are helping Moldova. Russia is trying to repeat Iran's actions in Lebanon against Moldova. And the response of the international community? Still not strong enough. We have lost the Georgia of Europe. The European character of human rights and state institutions there is gradually disappearing. Georgia has become a vassal of Russia.
Belarus has also moved towards dependence on Russia for many years. Europe can no longer afford to lose Moldova.
It is important to remember that the world has ignored the need to provide assistance to Georgia after the Russian attack, as well as the time to miss the issue of Belarus. Now Moldova cannot be ignored anymore. For Europe, the cost of supporting stability for Moldova is not high, but without action, the future will pay a higher price. That's why the EU must now help Moldova through funding and energy support, not just through verbal commitments or political gestures.
We must not forget to defend these rights in areas where human rights and national rights are threatened. The UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be enforced around the world. But the Taliban is dragging the whole of Afghanistan back into the dark age. The drug trafficking groups of some countries in Latin America are stronger than the government. These indicate the collapse of international law and the weakness of international institutions.
Distinguished Excellencies!
President Trump stood in this hall yesterday. God saved him from assassination during the campaign. Someone fired with a rifle, just inches away from taking his life.
A few days ago, the president joined with hundreds of thousands of Americans to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk. Sadly, his life ended with a bullet.
We pay tribute to the Ukrainian woman Irina Zarutskaya, who was brutally murdered in the United States, the land she sought to escape from the Russian war.
Almost every day we open the news and see headlines of brutal attacks around the world. These attacks are mostly carried out with weapons, and people are accustomed to this.
Nowadays, thousands of people are skilled in using drones for professional killing. Defending against such attacks is far more difficult than defending against knives, rifles, or bombs. And this is exactly what Russia has created through this war.
In the past, only the most powerful nations could use drones because they were both expensive and complex. Today, even simple drones can fly thousands of kilometers.
Recently, many airports in Europe were forced to close due to the threat of drones. The authorities can't even confirm the model, launcher identity and origin of these drones.
North Korea announced last week that it will test a tactical attack drone, meaning that even countries with limited resources can now manufacture weapons that pose a threat to their neighbors.
Countries such as Ukraine and Saudi Arabia are well aware of the dangers of Iranian attack drones, but what happens when all types of drones can reach even small terrorist organizations or drug trafficking groups in a timely manner?
Companies are already developing drones that can shoot down other drones.It’s only a matter of time – and not too long – that they will be able to independently fight other drones, attack critical infrastructure and attack humans and run completely independently, without human involvement, except for a handful of people who operate AI systems.
Dear Gentlemen Leaders!
The most destructive arms race in human history is now taking place because of the involvement of human intelligence.Would there be a safe place on Earth if there were no real security beyond friends and weapons, if the world could not even effectively cope with old threats, without a solid international security platform?
We now need global rules on the use of artificial intelligence in weapons, which is as urgent as preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
We need to resume international cooperation-truly effective and practical cooperation-for peace and security. It may be too late in a few more years.
Ten years ago, the shape of war was quite different. No one can imagine that cheap drones can create dead zones-areas stretching for tens of kilometers without vehicles, equipment and life. In the past, people only imagined this kind of scenario after a nuclear strike. Now this is because drones have become a reality-those that are mass-produced, simple in construction and not yet equipped with artificial intelligence (currently not equipped with artificial intelligence) can do it.
No one in Ukraine likes the kind of giant missiles that show up at the parade, but we have drones that can fly two or three thousand kilometers to protect our right to survive.
In the past, control of the oceans depended on having a strong naval fleet. Ukraine did not have a large fleet. But we succeeded in the Black Sea – we dispatched the remaining forces of the Russian fleet to remote bays. We achieved this with marine drones.
And our "Cobweb" operation-destroying and damaging dozens of expensive Russian strategic bombers with cheap drones-vividly demonstrated to global intelligence agencies how new weapons can counter older systems. It was these Russian bombers that attacked our cities.
And all this would not happen if Putin had not launched this total war.
As the war continues year after year, weapons are becoming more and more deadly, and all this should be blamed on Russia.
Dear Gentlemen Leaders!
In order to protect lives, Ukraine is building underground schools and hospitals. In order to protect lives, we have to spend more money on protecting power plants from missile and drone attacks, rather than building sports facilities or cultural infrastructure. Ukrainian farmers are learning how to protect their equipment from Russian FPV drone attacks, and for them this is far more serious than climate change. The Russian war has put us in this position.
The truth is simple: stopping this war now-along with the global arms race-is far more cost-effective than building underground kindergartens or critical infrastructure protection facilities for the whole world in the future.
It is far more expensive to stop Putin now than it would be to protect every port and ship in the global ocean from terrorist attacks by marine drones.
Now it is more expensive to stop Russia than to guess who will be the first to build a simple drone capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Therefore, we must use all available means – together and together – to force the aggressor to stop. Only then can we truly avoid this arms race ending with a catastrophe for all mankind. If weapons are needed, we will provide weapons, and if pressure is needed, we will put pressure on Russia – these actions must be taken immediately, otherwise Putin will continue to expand and deepen the war.
We have made it clear before that Ukraine is just the beginning. Russian drones have circled over Europe, and Russian actions are spreading to many countries. Putin is trying to continue and expand this war, and no one can stay out of it at the moment.
So-first of all-we're building a new security architecture for ourselves. More than 30 countries have joined our alliance.
We are strengthening military building, starting weapons production with partners, and determining defense financial commitments-this way may become the security model of any other country. If security guarantees work for Ukraine-not just friends and weapons-that will mean human success in making national security no longer the privilege of a few countries, but the right of everyone.
Second, we are ready to make our modern weapons your modern security safeguards and your modern weapons.We have decided to open up weapons exports.These are effective systems that have been tested by real war, when all international institutions failed to work.
We are also ready to work with strong partners to develop defense production to make their defense systems modern and reliable.You don’t have to start this race from scratch—we are willing to share the results that have proven effective in real defense.
Point # 3. There are still many people in the world who feel too calm, so far. But look at how many countries have appeared at this session of the UN General Assembly-those who are at war, have just finished a war, are trying to stop a war, or are openly preparing for war. The war has reached too many people to pretend it's not about you.
Therefore, your choice will be whether to promote peace or continue trade with Russia and help fund the war. Your choice will determine whether to release prisoners of war, whether to return home to kidnapped children and whether hostages can be freed. Your choice will determine the future direction: whether to continue the current state of war or to take our joint resolute action as it should be.
Yesterday I had a great meeting with President Trump. I also spoke with many other leaders. As long as we work together, we can change a lot. Of course, we are making every effort to get practical aid from Europe. We really hope for the United States. I appreciate the support we get. Yes, the G7 and G20 attitudes are crucial. But in the end, peace depends on all of us – on the United Nations.
Therefore, as Russia continues to delay this war, please do not remain silent – please speak out and condemn it.
Join us to jointly defend life and the international legal order.People are waiting for action.Thank you very much!
Glory to Ukraine!
Published by: Office of the President of Ukraine
https://www.president.gov.ua/news/vistup-prezidenta-pid-chas-zagalnih-debativ-generalnoyi-asam-100349
Compiled by: 24:00 Observatory