Zelenskiy: The world is in the most devastating arms race in history, stop Putin, help Moldova

(Patria) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told global leaders on Wednesday that the world is in the "most devastating arms race in human history" and called on the international community to act now against Russia, claiming that Vladimir Putin wants to expand his war in Europe, AP reported.

He told the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly that weak
international institutions, including the United Nations, have been unable to stop wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere, and that international law cannot help nations survive.

"Weapons decide who will survive," he said. "There are no security guarantees except friends and
weapons."

He spoke from the podium of the assembly hall the day after meeting with President Donald Trump, who expressed support for Ukraine's efforts and criticized Russia. Trump said on Tuesday that he believes Ukraine can regain all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the US leader's earlier calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war triggered by President Vladimir Putin's invasion of his smaller neighbor in February 2022.

Zelenskiy did not comment on the sudden US shift, saying only that he had a "good meeting" with Trump and many other "strong leaders".

"Together we can change a lot," he said, expressing gratitude for the support of the United States and Europe and calling on UN member states to condemn Russia as it "continues to wage this war".

If Putin is not stopped now, Zelenskiy says Russia will continue the war "wider and deeper".

"Ukraine is just the first, and now Russian drones are already flying over Europe, and Russian operations are already spreading across countries," he said.

Concern about Moldova

Zelenskiy said that neighboring Moldova is once again defending itself against Russian interference and should not be allowed to move towards dependence on Russia as Georgia and Belarus have done.

"Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova too," he said, emphasizing that the country needs financial and energy support, not just "political gestures".

Zelenskiy said that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, weapons, especially drones, have been "developing faster than our ability to defend ourselves".

While drones were previously used by large countries, he said, "Now there are tens of thousands of people who know how to kill professionally using drones".

Recently, European airports had to be closed due to drones, Zelenskiy said, and last week North Korea announced the testing of a "tactical drone," meaning that even countries with limited resources can build dangerous weapons.

"We are now experiencing the most devastating arms race in human history, because this time it involves artificial intelligence," he said. "Companies are already working on drones that can shoot down other drones, and it is only a matter of time - not much - when drones will fight drones, attack critical infrastructure, and attack people themselves, completely autonomously and without human involvement except for the few who control the artificial intelligence system."

Zelenskiy reiterated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for global rules on how artificial intelligence can be used in weapons, emphasizing that "this is as urgent as preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons".

Stopping Putin now is cheaper than trying to protect every port and airport and every ship from drone attacks, and building underground schools and health centers as Ukraine has been forced to do to protect its citizens, he said.

"Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead."

"So, we must use everything we have together to force the aggressor to stop, and only then will we have a real chance that this arms race will not end in catastrophe for all of us," Zelenskiy said.

My country does not have "big, fat missiles that dictators like to show off at parades," but
it produces drones that can fly 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers, and which have been used against Russia.

Zelenskiy said that Ukraine is building a new security architecture, that more than thirty countries are part of its coalition, and that they "have decided to open up for arms exports, and these are powerful systems tested in a real war when every international institution has failed".