Biden, Zelensky Condemn Russia in UN Speeches

Both presidents decry the brutality of the invasion
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 21, 2022 7:36 PM CDT
BIden, Zalensky Condemn Brutality of Russia's War
President Biden addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

President Biden delivered a fierce condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the UN on Wednesday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a prerecorded video speech demanded justice. "A permanent member of the UN Security Council invaded its neighbor, attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map. Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the UN charter," Biden told the General Assembly in New York, USA Today reports. Like Zelensky, Biden called on other nations to hold Russia accountable for the war. Hours earlier, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia is planning an escalation of the fighting in Ukraine.

Calling it a "brutal, needless war," per CNN, Biden said Russia's attacks on schools, hospitals and rail stations "should make your blood run cold." Zelensky also focused on the brutality, describing mass graves found in Izium, a city recently retaken from the Russians. Speaking in English, he urged that a UN tribunal "to punish Russia" be formed. "Russia should pay for this war," Zelensky said. And he again called for Russia to be recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism. Zelensky hasn't left Ukraine since the invasion began, per CNBC, but Ukraine's prime minister and foreign minister were at the UN, as was first lady Olena Zelenska. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

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