The Ukrainian president demands punishment for Russia

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly – broadcast via video – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the imposition of “just punishment” against Russia for its war on his country.

“A crime has been committed against Ukraine and we are demanding a just punishment from Russia,” said Zelensky – the only leader the United Nations has allowed to deliver his speech via video link this year. In his speech, Zelensky outlined what he said were 5 non-negotiable conditions for peace.

These conditions included punishing Russia for its “aggression”, restoring Ukraine’s security, territorial integrity, and security guarantees. In his speech, which was met with standing ovations in the United Nations General Assembly hall, Zelensky launched a violent attack on Russia over the war, adding, “We will not let this entity prevail over us.” Zelensky also called for the creation of a special court to try Russia for its “aggressive crime against our state.”

During his speech, the Ukrainian president repeated the word “punishment” no less than 15 times. He also called for the establishment of a compensation fund for Ukraine, and also stressed the need to strip Russia of its veto right in the UN Security Council.

Zelensky talked about what he described as the Ukrainian peace formula, saying that he rules out a settlement with Russia that is outside the “scope of the Ukrainian peace formula.” He pointed out that the elements of the Ukrainian peace formula are to punish Russia, protect the right to life, achieve regional peace, guarantees and insistence represented in “our determination to fight battles and the determination of the world to unite.” He added that we have proposals for concluding a bilateral and a multipolar treaty in order to achieve peace, noting that “stopping trade and transactions with the aggressor party are two parts of the desired peace formula.”