UNGA: Russia Won’t End War Without Pressure – Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia will not end the ongoing war “without pressure”.

He made the remarks after Moscow launched an attack on Kyiv while he was meeting with US officials in New York on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, to discuss “the need to strengthen sanctions” against Russia.

Zelensky, in a post on X, said at least two people were killed in the attack on Kyiv.

He said the strikes also hit civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, a maternity hospital, energy facilities and logistics infrastructure.

The Ukrainian president added that emergency services were working to rescue people trapped in buildings following the attack.

Kyiv city officials said a convention centre housing the headquarters of Zelensky’s political party was also hit, CNN reported.

“Every such attack happens because the pressure on the aggressor has never become total, and Russia believes it can continue to bet on ballistic terror. Right now, the United States has an opportunity to respond strongly,” Zelensky said, calling for more missile interceptors for Ukraine.

Earlier on Wednesday, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Zelensky described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “patient zero” and said the more freedom Putin has to act, “the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else.”

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, escalating a conflict that had continued since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and fighting in eastern Ukraine.

More than four years later, the war remains unresolved, with Russian and Ukrainian forces continuing to fight across parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russia controls significant Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine continues military operations to defend its territory and strike Russian positions.

The conflict has caused widespread civilian deaths, displacement and destruction of infrastructure, while the United States, European countries and other allies have provided Ukraine with extensive military and financial support.

Diplomatic efforts have repeatedly sought to end the fighting, but disagreements over territory, security guarantees and Ukraine’s future relationship with Russia have continued to hinder a lasting peace agreement.