KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action to stop Russian air strikes targeting vital infrastructure that have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.
Nuclear power plants across Ukraine were forced to shut down today due to a missile attack by Russia. The attack killed many innocent lives in Kyiv.
President Zelensky believes that Russia is using terror as its formula for winning. Yesterday alone, he said Russian forces have fired 70 missiles toward innocent targets. His nation is suffering from attacks on schools, hospitals, transportation infrastructure, and homes.
Ukraine is ready to wait for a “very firm reaction” to the September 13st air strikes, he added.
Russia has veto power over the United Nations Security Council, so given Russia’s membership in the council, it is unlikely that the UN will take any action in response to the appeal.
Zelenskyy called on countries to deny Russia a vote on any decisions concerning its actions.
“Russia is doing everything to make an energy generator a more powerful tool than the UN Charter,” he said.
Putin’s “weaponizing winter” inflicts immense suffering on the Ukrainian people.
Putin is known to use a strategy of freezing his opponents until they submit.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya responded to Zelenskyy by complaining that it was against council rules for the Ukrainian leader to appear via video and rejected what he called “reckless threats and ultimatums” from Ukraine and its Western supporters.
Nebenzya said that the damage to infrastructure in Ukraine was caused by missiles from the Ukrainian missile defense system being fired at Russian missiles. He also called for the West to stop providing Ukraine with air defense missiles.