LIVE UKRAINE. Zelensky criticizes UN “powerlessness” and wants to deprive Russia of veto power | Home

Poland will no longer supply weapons to Ukraine because it focuses on being own armament. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said this.

Tensions between Warsaw and Kiev had risen in recent days due to a conflict over grain from Ukraine. Poland banned its import to protect its own farmers.

Kiev filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that some countries are “feigning” solidarity with Ukraine. Poland then summoned the Ukrainian ambassador.

The Polish Prime Minister did not clarify when arms deliveries to Ukraine have precisely stopped. He also did not comment on a link with the grain conflict.

“We will mainly focus on modernizing and rapidly arming the Polish army, so that it becomes one of the most powerful land forces in Europe. And that must be done very quickly,” he explained.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have suspended their spokeswoman Sarah Ashton-Cirillo. The American would pronunciations have done that had not been approved by the army leadership. The Eastern European country’s Ministry of Defense says an investigation has been launched.

Ashton-Cirillo has almost 160,000 followers on messaging platform X and is also active on YouTube. It is unclear which statements led to her suspension. The trans woman from Nevada went to Ukraine last year, initially to report on refugees. She ended up as an army spokeswoman and moved into that role also known in Russia.

There was recently one on Russian television special broadcast of an hour to see about the American. In it she was described as “sample” and “a shame for the Ukrainians”. Ashton-Cirillo gave an interview to the AFP news agency a week later. She then said in her studio in Kiev that it is a principle of her unit to “embrace hatred of the Russians”.

According to the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres has the war in Ukraine increases geopolitical tensions, endangering stability in the region, increasing the nuclear threat and creating “deep rifts” in the world. He criticized the “ruthless attacks on civilians” and civilian targets. The Russian invasion is a violation of the United Nations Charter and international law, he stressed.

The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov also joined some time after Zelensky left. He said that the United States and others Western countries should not interfere in Ukraine’s “internal affairs”.and believes that they are to blame for the conflict. He called the Russian veto “legitimate”.

The fact that Ukraine spoke at the United Nations meeting led to tense situations. Russia also sits at the table as a permanent member of the council. That country’s permanent representative, Vasili Nebenzha, objected at the start of the meeting to the Ukrainian president being one of the first to speak. According to him, this is contrary to the rules, which would prescribe that presidents of members who are members of the council should be discussed first.

The President of the Security Council, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, wanted nothing to do with that. He said that there had been prior consultations about this and called it “rather far-fetched” that Russia, of all people, started talking about violating the rules. “There is a solution if you don’t agree. You stop the war and President Zelensky doesn’t get to speak.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the powerlessness of the United Nations in a speech to the UN Security Council in New York. The UN is responding to problems with “rhetoric” rather than “real solutions”, he said. The president also criticized Russia’s veto because he said it would lead the United Nations to an impasse.

The UN General Assembly should be given the power to override a veto, Zelensky said.

“Humanity no longer places its hope in the UN when it comes to defending the sovereign borders of nations,” he further denounced. The Ukrainian president therefore demanded that the UN set up a system to respond early to attacks on the sovereignty of other states. “It is time for the nations of the world to agree on such a mechanism to respond to aggression to protect others, which everyone would want for their own security.”

He said the Russian invasion of Ukraine the usefulness of such a mechanism and the impact of strong sanctions against an aggressor demonstrated. “Those who want to start a war should, before making their fatal mistake, see what exactly they will lose if the war were to start,” it said. The question of whether to apply such preventive sanctions should automatically be submitted to the UN Security Council for consideration when a member of the UN General Assembly reports a threat of aggression, Zelensky stated.

In addition, the Ukrainian also called for the UN Security Council to be expanded with more permanent members, including Germany. “Germany has become one of the most important global guardians of peace and security,” he said. He thinks further a permanent representative from Latin America and the Pacific States. Also the African Union must be given a place in the most important UN body. Asia also deserves a stronger presence, he said. “It cannot be considered normal if countries such as Japan, India or the Islamic world remain excluded from permanent membership of the body.” He said it was unfair if billions of people were not represented.

Russia was only represented at the Security Council by the Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vasili Nebenzha. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was absent.

That ambassador had tried to stop Zelensky’s speech. He said there was no reason to let the Ukrainian president speak first and turn the UN Security Council session into a one-man show. The chairman of the Security Council, Edi Rama, refused to follow the Russian ambassador.