Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday (September 23) called for steps to de-escalate the war with Russia before winter.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Zelenskiy said Ukrainians were prepared for a "very harsh winter" but were prepared to respond to any continued Russian attacks by making the colder months "painful" for Moscow as well.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine needed both diplomacy and military strength, adding that he had discussed the conflict with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (September 22) and would also seek to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Ukrainian leader said Russia had used 63,000 attack drones of various types against his country in the first eight months of 2026, including more than 7,700 jet-powered Shahed drones.

Zelenskiy also said Ukrainian forces had successfully tested four new jet-powered interceptor drones designed to counter Russia's Iran-designed Shaheds and that Ukraine was scaling up production.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

UNITED NATIONS (SEPTEMBER 23, 2026) (UNTV - Access all)

1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, WALKING TO LECTERN

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SAYING:

“Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us, but, in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too. And that’s exactly why we say that de-escalation steps are important, are needed, before winter - now.”

3. ZELENSKIY SPEAKING, AUDIENCE LISTENING

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SAYING:

“We need diplomacy, and we need strength. And step by step, we are closing the gaps in both. Yesterday, we met with the President of the United States (Donald Trump), and this is exactly what we discussed. Unfortunately, we have not had a chance to speak directly with the leader of China (Xi Jinping) – who is in America today.”

5. UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS, INCLUDING DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR REINTEGRATION OF TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE, OLEKSII REZNIKOV; HEAD OF THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE OF UKRAINE, RUSTEM UMEROV; AND UKRAINE'S FOREIGN MINISTER, ANDRII SYBIHA,

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SAYING:

“In eight months of this year, Russia used 63,000 attack drones of different types against Ukraine - our people. And more than 7,700 of them were jet-powered 'Shaheds' - truly destructive and dangerous weapons.”

7. ATTENDEES LISTENING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SAYING:

“The Russians launch jet-powered 'Shaheds' every hour - every hour - against our cities, our economy, our infrastructure. Our combat aircraft are fighting them 24/7. And this is part of Russia’s strategy – to create an air threat every hour, to make life harder for the economy and to disrupt people’s lives, and to stop children from being able to study, just to study at school.”

9. ZELENSKIY SPEAKING, AUDIENCE LISTENING

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SAYING: (INCLUDES MULTIPLE ANGLES)

“Our soldiers have already successfully tested four new jet-powered interceptor drones against Russian jet-powered 'Shaheds'. So we are scaling up production, and we will build - of course we will build - protection against this threat too. We have also launched an anti-ballistic programme, 'Freyja', together with our partners.”

11. ZELENSKIY SPEAKING,AUDIENCE LISTENING

12. ZELENSKIY FINISHING SPEECH, SAYING (Ukrainian): “Glory to Ukraine”