Zelenskyy Urges World Leaders to Cut Russia’s War Revenues

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine addresses the General Debate of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday urged world leaders to increase pressure on Russia by cutting its revenues and limiting its ability to continue the war against Ukraine.

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Zelenskyy said Russia’s ability to finance and sustain the war should remain a key target of international pressure.

“Our target is Russia's ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive,” he said. “Russia's finances and Russia's production are what must be stopped if Putin is to be stopped.”

Zelenskyy argued that continued Russian revenues from international trade reduce Moscow’s incentive to pursue diplomacy.

“Russia's revenues must remain a target,” he said.

His remarks came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia and Ukraine had expressed interest in a limited ceasefire covering grain shipments and energy infrastructure.

Rubio said such an agreement would be difficult to reach but that Washington was willing to help facilitate it. Both countries have seen attacks on energy facilities, while the war has also disrupted grain exports and global supply chains.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clashed with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and European supporters of Ukraine during a UN Security Council meeting.

Lavrov also met Rubio in New York to discuss the war. Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not refer to a possible partial agreement on grain shipments in its statement following the meeting and reiterated Moscow’s position that the underlying causes of the conflict must be addressed.

At the Security Council, Lavrov said Russia would not pause its military operation, arguing that European countries could use such a pause to provide Ukraine with additional weapons.

Zelenskyy said Russia’s actions raised questions about whether President Vladimir Putin genuinely wants to end the fighting.

“Something always seems to stop Putin from saying, ‘That's it. Enough. Peace,’” he said.

“The more freedom Putin has to act, the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else,” he added.

The war has affected countries far beyond Russia and Ukraine, disrupting supplies of fuel, fertiliser and grain while deepening divisions between Russia and Western countries.

Russia and Ukraine have also intensified long-range drone and missile attacks in recent months. Ukrainian officials said Russian drones struck Kyiv on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 23 others. Ukrainian authorities also reported injuries in a strike that caused a major fire at a shopping mall in Zaporizhzhia.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had targeted Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities, logistics centres and sea vessels overnight. It also said Russian air defences had intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones over several regions and surrounding waters.

Zelenskyy said Russia had used about 63,000 attack drones of various types against Ukraine so far this year.

He urged countries to restrict Russia’s financial resources and access to foreign fighters while strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.

“Limit his money. Limit his war,” he told world leaders.

Zelenskyy also highlighted Ukraine’s development of drone technologies and interceptor systems, including efforts to counter Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia.

He warned that artificial intelligence could increasingly shape warfare, including the development of autonomous weapons capable of making battlefield decisions with limited or no direct human control.

“We need peace before we reach that point,” he said.

Zelenskyy rejected the suggestion that Ukraine wants the war to continue, saying its military spending, weapons development and support for sanctions were responses to Russia’s invasion.

“Ukrainians did not choose this war,” he said. “We choose not to die. … We are defending ourselves.”