JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Ukraine's president heads to the White House Thursday with his so-called plan for victory and a wish list for more help from the Biden administration. First, though, he was at the United Nations warning the world that Russia may be preparing to attack Ukrainian nuclear power plants. As Russian President Vladimir Putin once again ratchets up threats of nuclear retaliation, NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Ukraine is bracing for a third winter of war and facing growing calls from some countries that it's time to cut a deal with Russia. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on countries to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he says is planning to attack nuclear power plants and other Ukrainian infrastructure.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: With the help of satellites, by the way, ladies and gentlemen, by the way, satellites of other countries, Russia is getting images and detailed information about the infrastructure of our nuclear power plants.
KELEMEN: He says, Russia has buddies in this war, North Korea and Iran. He criticized what he called the Chinese Brazilian duo and others trying to push forward, in his words, half-hearted peace formulas that ignore the interests and suffering of the Ukrainian people.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ZELENSKYY: And maybe somebody wants a Nobel Prize for their political biography for frozen truce instead of real peace, but the only prizes Putin will give you in return are more suffering and disasters.
KELEMEN: Zelenskyy has been making the rounds at the U.N., holding meetings with various world leaders and addressing the U.N. Security Council. There, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also took aim at Iran for providing drones and ballistic missiles to Russia, and North Korea for delivering, quote, "trainloads of weapons and ammunition." Blinken says these arms deals violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANTONY BLINKEN: The more Russia relies on their support, the more Iran and North Korea extract in return. And the more Putin gives to Pyongyang and Tehran, the more he exacerbates threats to peace and security not just in Europe, but in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East - all around the globe.
KELEMEN: Blinken says, while China talks about peace, it is providing microelectronics and other items that Russia is using to ramp up its war machine. China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, bristled at the criticism. He spoke through an interpreter.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WANG YI: On the Ukraine issue, any move to shift responsibility onto China or attack and smear China is irresponsible and will lead nowhere.
KELEMEN: Russia's ambassador went through his usual talking points, calling Ukrainians Nazis and spreading other falsehoods in the Security Council. Since Russia has veto power there, Ukraine's president is looking for broader support in the general assembly.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ZELENSKYY: And I think every leader, every country that supports us in this, that understands us, that sees how Russia, a country more than 20 times larger than Ukraine in territory, still wants even more land, more land, which is insane.
KELEMEN: U.S. officials are expecting to hear more about Zelenskyy's victory plan when he meets President Biden at the White House on Thursday. Zelenskyy wants to be able to use long-range missiles it gets from the West to strike deep inside Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin today, again, warned that could trigger him to use nuclear weapons in response.
Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the United Nations.
(SOUNDBITE OF SLUM VILLAGE SONG, "FALL IN LOVE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
