Int'l Law Fails Without Allies & Arms: Zelenskyy at UN

24 SEP 2025 16:54

From the rostrum of the UN General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a programmatic and harsh speech, which was not a request for help, but a brutal diagnosis of the existing world order and a warning about the wars of the future. He stated that international law and security guarantees have ceased to function, and today the only formula for survival is to have powerful allies and one's own weapons.

"International law does not fully work if you do not have influential friends who are ready to defend it," Zelenskyy stated, emphasizing that "there are no security guarantees." He criticized the UN, noting that for decades, peoples going through war, such as the peoples of Sudan, Somalia, or Palestine, receive "only statements" from the organization.

The key part of Zelenskyy's speech was dedicated to the changing nature of war. He warned that the world has entered the era of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which is fundamentally changing all perceptions of security.

"Now tens of thousands of people know how to kill professionally with drones. Such an attack is more difficult to stop than any firearm, knife, or bomb," he said.

The President of Ukraine warned that even primitive drones can fly thousands of kilometers, and countries with limited resources can now create dangerous weapons for their neighbors.

"Soon, drones will fight against drones, targeting critical infrastructure, targeting people, fully autonomously, without human intervention," he predicted.

In this new reality, according to Zelenskyy, Ukraine had no alternative but to develop its own defense industry.

"Ukraine does not have the huge, super-missiles that dictators like to show off in parades, but we have drones that can fly two to three thousand kilometers. We had no choice but to create them," he noted.

Furthermore, Zelenskyy announced a drastic change in strategy: "We have decided to open up arms exports. These are powerful systems, tested in the real world when all international institutions failed. You don't have to start from scratch; we are ready to share what has already proven itself in real defense."

Zelenskyy emphasized that Russian aggression threatens not only Ukraine. He drew parallels, noting that "Russia is trying to do to Moldova what Iran once did to Lebanon," and added, "We have already lost Georgia in Europe..." As a direct threat to NATO, he mentioned the case of 19 Russian UAVs violating Polish airspace, of which only 4 were shot down.

"Fortunately, they were not 'Shaheds,' otherwise the consequences would have been terrible," he said.

"The war has already reached too many people to pretend it has nothing to do with you," Zelenskyy concluded.