‘What Will Happen to Them?’ Zelensky Appeals to the UN to Help Stop Russia’s Mass Kidnapping of Ukrainian Children
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the UN General Assembly on Tuesday and detailed the Russian invasion of his country in devastating fashion, listing the many war crimes committed against his people.
Zelensky declared Russia’s actions “clearly a genocide” as he explained how tens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been kidnapped and taken to Russia. He first detailed Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, going so far as too even exploit the country’s nuclear power grid during the war:
Now, now this threat is even greater. Russia is weaponizing nuclear energy. Not only it is spreading its unreliable nuclear power plant construction technologies, but it is also turning other countries power plants into real dirty bombs. Look, please, what Russia did to our Zaporizhzhia power plant shelled it, occupied it. And now bombards others with radiation leaks. Is there any sense to reduce nuclear weapons when Russia is weaponizing nuclear power plants? Scary question.
“The global security architecture offers no response or protection against such a treacherous radiation threat, and there is no accountability for radiation blackmail so far,” he concluded.
Moving on to discuss the mass kidnappings, Zelensky added:
Children, unfortunately. And there is terrorist groups that abduct children to put pressure on their families and societies. But never before the mass kidnapping and deportation would become a part of the government policy. Not until now. We know the names of tens of thousands of children and have evidence on hundreds of thousands of others kidnaped by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine and later deported. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin for these crimes and we are trying to get the children back home. But time, time goes by. What will happen with them? What will happen to them? Those children in Russia are taught to hate Ukraine and all ties with their families are broken. And this is clearly a genocide.
When hatred is weaponized against one nation, it never stops. They are each decade Russia starts a new war. Parts of Moldova and Georgia remain occupied. Russia torn Syria into ruins. And if not Russia, the chemical weapons would have never been used there in Syria. Russia has almost swallowed Belarus. It is obviously threatening Kazakhstan and other Baltic states.
“And the goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our land, our people, our lives, our resources into a weapon against you. Against, the international rules based order,” he warned the international delegates.
Watch the full clip above.
