‘Without China, Putin’s Russia is nothing,’ Zelensky tells U.N. Security Council

Speaking at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is dependent on China and that Beijing could stop the war in Ukraine if it wanted.

“If China truly wanted this war to stop, it could compel Moscow to end the invasion,” Zelensky said. “Without China, Putin’s Russia is nothing. Yet too often, China stays silent and distant instead of active for peace.”

Zelensky also said the U.S. has the power to pressure Moscow to end the war. “Moscow fears America and always pays attention to it,” he said, noting that he had met with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier the same day.

The Ukrainian president added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unwilling to hold direct peace talks. “That man fears to sit face to face with Ukraine and the world and openly admit [that] he wants only war. Instead, Putin sends delegates who cannot and don’t want to stop the bloodshed,” Zelensky said.