At UNGA, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy calls Putin ‘Patient Zero’ of war

United Nations: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the world’s leaders Wednesday to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts, telling the UN General Assembly that “Russia’s revenues must remain a target.”

“When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. And that is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor, and why we are burning Russia’s revenues ourselves,” he said, speaking in English at the UN General Assembly.

Russia gets its turn Saturday to address the assembly. President Vladimir Putin hasn’t travelled to the gathering in years, sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead. Lavrov told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Russia is prepared to negotiate toward a lasting peace but won’t just “pause” the war. He argued that such a pause would just buy Ukraine and its backers time to line up more weapons.

“Something always seems to stop Putin from saying, That’s it. Enough, Peace,’” Zelenskyy said. “Can you even imagine him without war? He is Patient Zero’, the one from whom war keeps spreading further. … Patient Zero’ must be stopped.”

Russia invaded Ukraine more than 4½ years ago. Western analysts estimate that over 500,000 Russian troops have been killed and that Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. Neither country discloses its own casualty totals.

The war has had global repercussions for fuel, fertilizer and grain shipments — and for geopolitics, widening divisions between Russia and the West.

With front-line positions in eastern and southern Ukraine largely unchanged since last year, Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range attacks with drones and missiles.