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During an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia’s war in Ukraine could spread beyond the Eastern European nation’s borders and into neighboring NATO countries unless Russian President Vladimir Putin faces sustained economic pressure from the international community.
Ukraine has already taken steps to hit Russia financially by ramping up attacks on its energy infrastructure. But the strategy has added pressure to an already strained global diesel market, putting governments and consumers around the world on edge.
The Zelensky Squeeze
Zelensky opened his speech with a quote from President Donald Trump, who recently wrote on Truth Social that a “large number of [Russia’s] Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission.” “This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended. The whole World suffers as 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are being killed each month. What a shame!” Trump added.
Zelensky said he agreed with Trump’s assessment, but later appeared to justify continued attacks on Russian oil refineries, apparently regardless of how they affect the international community:
“[O]il itself is not Ukraine’s target. Not our target. Not gasoline or diesel. Not factories or ports as such. Our target is Russia’s ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive. Russia’s finances and Russia's production are what must be stopped if Putin is to be stopped.”
Zelensky expressed frustration with countries that continue doing business with Russia, arguing that every dollar flowing into Moscow helps keep the war going: “When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time.”
Still, President Trump has repeatedly urged Zelensky to rein in attacks on Russia’s oil refineries, arguing there are “plenty of other targets.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the US president, calling for an “energy infrastructure ceasefire.” “We think that would be a great idea — an energy infrastructure ceasefire in which … Ukraine’s infrastructure is not being targeted, Russian energy supplies are not being targeted as well,” Rubio said. “It’s an ideal outcome.”
Zelensky has expressed openness to an energy ceasefire if the US ensures Moscow's intent, according to Reuters. However, at the UN General Assembly, he said he wants the world to squeeze Russia: “That is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor and why we are burning Russia's revenues ourselves.” Russia’s oil and gas industry is a major revenue source for the nation, accounting for “between 30 to 50 percent of total federal budget revenues over the past decade,” according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
AI Warfare
Zelensky also raised a sobering point in his address: Thanks to artificial intelligence, the future of warfare could be unrecognizable compared to how it looks now. “As early as next year, there is already a real possibility that AI, not only people, will decide what happens on the battlefield,” he warned.
“If you listen to some of the biggest believers in the development of AI, they say today AI still remains mostly digital, but one day AI will move from the digital world to shaping atoms,” he added. “And when that happens, we had better be at peace.”
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