Before the UN General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced, Wednesday September 23, the murderous “madness” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging his allies to maintain sanctions against Moscow, the only way to turn off the tap of war.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “He is patient zero, the one from whom this idea of war continues to spread,” he denounced, calling out to the international community the fate of the tens of thousands of soldiers from 47 countries, including North Korea, sent to support Russian soldiers.
“Is there anyone left who thinks he is reasonable and moderate?” he continued.
Also readFollow our live broadcast dedicated to the UN General Assembly
In contrast, he reported two North Korean soldiers taken prisoner by Ukraine and sent to South Korea.
“No more time for war, no more time for Putin”
Faced with this spiral, “our target is Russia’s capacity to finance this war, to prolong it, to make it more brutal and more destructive”, he stressed. “When Russia has money, it always says no, no to diplomacy, and this is also a form of veto against peace, not an official right, but a real one.”
Also readWar in Ukraine: when the CIA enters the diplomatic ballet
The Ukrainian president also criticized France, which put pressure on Brussels to lift sanctions against Russian oligarch Alisher Ousmanov, close to Vladimir Putin, in exchange for the release of a Frenchman detained in Azerbaijan.
“When someone in the world weakens sanctions against Russian oligarchs, it may make life more comfortable for rich Russians, but it also gives more time for war, more time for Putin.”
Also readWar in Ukraine: targeting Russian oligarchs, a strategy doomed to pschitt?
“Russia’s revenues must therefore remain a target,” he insisted.
With AFP
