World Leaders Condemn Russia for the War in Ukraine

Klondike (2022): The story of a Ukrainian family living on the border of Russia and Ukraine during the start of the war. Irka refuses to leave her house even as the village

New York — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia must face "just punishment" over its invasion of Ukraine. He made this statement in a recorded video message to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"A crime has been committed against Ukraine and we demand just punishment. The crime was committed against our state borders. The crime was committed against the lives of our people," Zelensky said. "Ukraine demands punishment for trying to steal our territory" and for the murder of thousands of people.

World leaders gathered in New York for the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2022. The main topic of discussion this year has been the war in Ukraine.

In his opening remarks to the Assembly, UN Secretary General António Guterres said, “We cannot go on like this. We have a duty to act. And yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction.”

US President Joe Biden condemned the actions of Russia in Ukraine and said, “Let us speak plainly. A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbour, attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map, Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations Charter, no more important than the clear prohibition against countries taking the territory of their neighbor.” 

Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Emmanuel Macron of France used the gathering as a stage to cast themselves as would-be peacemakers in the war in Ukraine. Macron suggested that “neutral” nations in the war in Ukraine were complicit, and Erdogan portrayed himself as a mediator in the conflict.

Erdogan met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Uzbekistan in the beginning of September and called on him to return captured territories in Ukraine. India and China also had expressed their concerns to Russia regarding the war. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stated "It is not the time for war" and Xi Jinping expressed that China had "questions and concerns" regarding the war in Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, just hours before world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters, announced in Moscow the partial mobilization of his country’s military, calling up 300,000 reservists and vowing he would consider all options to protect what he considers Russian territory, raising concerns of a nuclear attack.