Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared somber and, at times, angry in a blistering address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, as he sought to shore up support for his country’s war effort and demand that Russia be punished for the invasion.
Wearing his trademark green fatigues at the dais at the front of the hall, Zelenskyy furrowed his brow as he called for other countries to recognize that Russia was not just a threat to Ukraine — but to the entire world. He appealed for other countries to help hold the line against Moscow, as “mass destruction is gaining momentum.”
“While Russia is pushing the world to the final war, Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after Russian aggression, no one will dare to attack any nation,” Zelenskyy said.
The US has absolutely not signed a defensive pact with Ukraine. Its commitment in the Budapest memorandum is limited to respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and bringing matters to UN Security Council in case that sovereignty is violated, which does nothing as long as the violating party is a permanent member. The whole document was pretty a nice political declaration. Don’t get me wrong, I think the US should provide all help possible to Ukraine, but saying that it has a defensive pact or a treaty obligation to do so is unfair.