Zelensky tells UN Putin is "patient zero" spreading war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in New York, said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is "patient zero" — the source from which the idea of war spreads, bringing pain, instability and new crises to the entire region. This was reported by the Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing the president's remarks.

Zelensky noted that over the past year, Russian forces have seized around 1,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, though Ukraine has managed to retake a significant portion of that land. "Putin is constantly looking for someone to help him kill even more people for every kilometer of territory, seize new lands, attack other countries — instead of simply stopping and focusing on governing his own country," he stressed.

Donbas is not the limit of the Kremlin's ambitions

According to the Ukrainian president, the Russian leadership isn't satisfied with the parts of Donbas it already occupies — Moscow has its sights set on Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and other major Ukrainian cities. Zelensky added that Russia is simultaneously refusing to respect the sovereignty of other countries in the region, including the Baltic states and Moldova, which is why "patient zero," in his words, must be stopped.

The Ukrainian president also cited figures on Russian military losses: from January to August alone, 248,964 servicemen were killed. "It's madness, but they keep going, and people keep dying because that's what Putin wants," Zelensky said, commenting on the numbers.

Dispute over an energy truce

Zelensky also addressed the massive strikes by the Ukrainian military on infrastructure facilities in Russia, which have caused fuel shortages in some regions of the country. According to him, the goal of these strikes is not the oil, gasoline or diesel itself, but Russia's ability to finance its war against Ukraine and make it even more brutal.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump called on Kyiv to stop attacking oil refineries in Russia, saying it was harming the entire world, and proposed introducing an energy truce under which neither Kyiv nor Moscow would strike each other's energy facilities. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, said that both Ukraine and Russia have shown interest in such a truce.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz