US President Joe Biden has used his 30-minute address at the UN General Assembly to rally support for Ukraine and push the world leaders to stand up to Russia.
Addressing the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on Tuesday, Biden claimed that no nation can be secure if “we allow Ukraine to be carved up.”
“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” he said.
“Can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected if you allow Ukraine to be carved up? Is the independence of any nation secure? I’d respectfully suggest the answer’s no.”
The US president further said that Washington and its allies, who have backed Kiev since the start of the war, would “continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine.”
Biden was speaking to an audience missing numerous key leaders, including those from France and Britain.
The meeting, however, was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will visit the White House later in the day, to seek more US aid and weaponry to push its slow-moving counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian leader is also due to meet members of the US Congress, where the White House is trying to shore up support for a new $24 billion Ukrainian aid package.
Other senior members of Biden’s administration were also making their case during the day. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged allied defense leaders in remarks at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to “dig deep” and provide more air defense systems for Ukraine.
The US and its Western allies began pouring weapons and ammunition into Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its “special military operation” in the country in February 2022.
Russia has time and again warned that the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine would only prolong the war.
The Biden administration has so far spent more than $100 billion on the war in Ukraine, according to the White House.
