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.
Pretty much anyone who isn’t a fan of another World War should care. This basically will set a precedent for whether a country can just up and invade its neighbor for territorial gain, and whether the world will just stand by and watch like we did with Sudetanland.
If this ends with Russia’s defeat, it could cool a lot of simmering tensions as would be belligerents realize that the world will basically throw in with the people being invaded. Or, if Russia faces no consequences, it could demonstrate that the world is truly a bunch of self-interested nation states with no motivation beyond self preservation, and we should prepare for China starting its world tour any year now.