Zelensky Ominously Warns of ‘Most Destructive Arms Race in Human History’ During UN Speech
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday by mourning the murders of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska – the Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death on a train in North Carolina. Zelensky spoke of Kirk and Zarutska before offering a grave warning to his fellow world leaders about what he called the “most destructive arms race in human history” – which he believes is taking place right now as drones and AI become further weaponized.
“Excellencies. Yesterday, President Trump stood right here in this hall, and God saved him from a murder attempt during the campaign. A shot was fired from a rifle, and just a fraction of an inch saved his life. Just days ago, the president, along with hundreds of thousands of Americans, honored the memory of Charlie Kirk. Sadly, his life was cut short by a bullet—once again, violence with a rifle in hand,” Zelensky began, adding:
We also mourn the Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska. She was brutally killed with a knife here in America, the very country where she was seeking refuge from Russia’s war. And almost every day, when we open the news, we see headlines about violent attacks happening all around the world.
Most of it is done with weapons. People are already used to it. But weapons are evolving faster than our ability to defend ourselves. Now there are tens of thousands of people who know how to professionally kill using drones. Stopping that kind of attack is harder than stopping any gun, knife, or bomb. This is what Russia has brought with its war. It used to be that only the strongest countries could use drones because they were expensive and complex. Now even simple drones can fly thousands of kilometers.
War tech doesn’t care about geography anymore. It’s now reshaping it. Just recently, airports in Europe had to shut down because of drones. Authorities couldn’t even say what kind of drones they were, who sent them, or from where. Last week, North Korea announced the test of a tactical strike drone. That means even countries with limited resources can now build weapons that are dangerous to their neighbors. Ukraine and nations like Saudi Arabia know all too well how dangerous Iranian attack drones are.
But what happens when all these types of drones become available even to small terrorist groups or cartels? The world moves too slowly to protect itself. And weapons move too fast—now companies are already working on drones that can shoot down other drones, and it’s only a matter of time, not much, before drones are fighting drones, attacking critical infrastructure, and targeting people all by themselves—fully autonomous and no human involved except the few who control AI systems.
Dear leaders, we are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, because this time it includes artificial intelligence. And if there are no real security guarantees except friends and weapons, and if the world can’t respond even to old threats, and if there is no strong platform for international security, will there be any place left on Earth that’s still safe?
Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.
