Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told world leaders Tuesday that Russia is"weaponizing" everything from food and energy to abducted children in its war against Ukraine.
Ukraine and its allies cast the country's cause as a battle for the rule of international law, for the sovereignty of every country with a powerful and potentially expansionist neighbor, and for the stability of global food, fuel and other supplies that have been rocked by the war. The commodity upheaval has triggered inflation and caused serious hardships for poor countries.
The war has raged longer and losses have been greater than Russia hoped, and the fighting has spurred widespread international condemnation and sanctions against Moscow. Meanwhile, Ukraine is concerned that backing from its allies may be ebbing. They have supplied billions of dollars' worth of arms but fear that their stockpiles are shrinking and that defense contractors are struggling to boost production lines.
The U.S. Congress is currently weighing President Biden's request to provide as much as $24 billion more in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, amid a growing partisan divide over spending on the conflict. Zelenskyy is scheduled to spend time Thursday on Capitol Hill and to meet with President Biden at the White House.After landing Monday in New York, Zelenskyy suggested that the U.N. needs to answer for allowing his country's invader a seat at the tables of power.
Asked whether he would stay in the room to listen, Zelenskyy said,"I don't know how it will be, really."