Eastern Europe United Against Russia at the UN General Assembly — CNN
Leaders of several Eastern European countries used their speeches at the UN General Assembly to publicly speak out against Moscow’s policies. They also portrayed the war in Ukraine as a threat to international peace and security, according to CNN.
Tensions are rising across Europe—and in the United States—as some fear that Russia may escalate its attacks on the continent, particularly through hybrid warfare. “Latvia faces these threats every day,” the country’s president, Edgars Rinkēvičs, said on Wednesday.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki stated that Moscow is destabilizing Europe through “open aggression, hybrid operations, acts of subversion, and sabotage.” As a representative of a country bordering Russia, Nawrocki said, “We do not seek confrontation. We are strengthening our alliances, developing our armed forces, and modernizing their equipment not to wage war, but to prevent it.” “Any response to hybrid attacks must be firm, consistent, and unified,” he said.
Estonian President Alar Karis called on more countries to urge Russia to “stop its aggression,” calling the war one of the greatest tests of the UN’s relevance today. “Russia’s actions have been condemned by the overwhelming majority of this assembly, but condemnation alone is not enough. We must collectively compel Russia to bring peace to Ukraine,” he told world leaders, calling for the use of economic, diplomatic, and political means.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs also spoke out against Russia’s war in Ukraine. He said that the idea of “hybrid threats” might seem more “innocuous,” but cautioned that such threats are just as dangerous as conventional wars. “By guarding the eastern border of NATO and the European Union, Latvia faces these threats every day,” he said.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated that the war in Ukraine is “the only conflict that poses the greatest threat to the world order,” according to CNN.
Earlier, the Kremlin responded to the proposal for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin at the G20.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has not yet made a decision regarding his participation in the G20 summit and, accordingly, regarding a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
As a reminder, Zelenskyy effectively proposed to the Kremlin leader that they hold a face-to-face meeting specifically during the G20 summit in December 2026.
Prior to this, the U.S. had invited Putin to the December G20 summit in Miami.
