UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Joe Biden made his case before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the world must remain united in defending Ukraine against Russian aggression, warning that no nation can be secure if “we allow Ukraine to be carved up” as he tries to rally support for Kyiv’s effort to repel a nearly 19-month-old Russian invasion that has no end in sight.

The U.S. president called on world leaders to not let support for Ukraine diminish, arguing that Russia is counting on countries to grow tired of prolonged conflict in Kyiv which will “allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence.” Russia alone is standing in the way of a resolution, Biden argued, saying that Moscow’s price for peace was “Ukraine’s capitulation, Ukraine’s territory and Ukraine’s children.”

“I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the United States to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?” Biden said in his address. “If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?

He continued: “I’d respectfully suggest the answer is no.”

The president’s forceful rhetoric on Ukraine appeared aimed not just for a global audience but for Washington, where an increasingly isolationist strain of the Republican Party is jeopardizing the prospects of the U.S. successfully replenishing the steady flow of aid that has gone to Kyiv since the war began in February 2022.

The Biden administration has asked Congress to greenlight an additional $24 billion in security and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but Republicans who control the House have all but ignored that request as lawmakers scramble to ensure government funding remains flowing beyond the end of September. Animated by the views of former President Donald Trump, a vocal faction of House Republicans remain steadfastly opposed to more Ukraine aid, even as other GOP lawmakers, primarily in the Senate, continue to advocate support for Kyiv to dissuade Russia from spreading its attacks beyond Ukraine’s borders.

“We have to stand up to this naked aggression today and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Biden said in his U.N. address. “That’s why the United States – together with our allies and partners around the world — will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity and their freedom.”

Other senior members of the Biden administration were making their case on Tuesday, as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austinpushed allied defense leaders in remarks at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to “dig deep” and provide more air defense systems for Ukraine to help the country wage its counteroffensive.

Indeed, the broader message is intended to resonate beyond Moscow and even Capitol Hill. Washington remains on guard against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, where competing territorial claims have caused tension in the region. Beijing also wants to reunite the mainland with the self-governing island of Taiwan, a goal that raises the prospect of another war.

During his address, Biden described the partnerships that the U.S. government was fostering around the globe — from Africa to the Indo-Pacific — that he said were creating economic, security and other advancements, even as he stressed that those relationships were not about “containing any country” — a clear reference to Beijing.

“When it comes to China, let me be clear and consistent,” Biden said. “We seek to responsibly manage competition between our countries so it does not tip into conflict. I’ve said we are for de-risking — not decoupling — with China.”

Biden emphasized that Beijing and Washington need to cooperate on climate, and referenced recent natural disasters — devastating heat waves, droughts and floods around the globe — as part of a “snapshot” that tells the “urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof the world.”

Despite his own emphasis on climate as a priority, Biden does not plan to attend a special summit on climate that U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres will host on Wednesday, where countries are encouraged to bring new ideas and proposals on how to further cut emissions and combat climate change. Officials played down Biden’s absence at the climate summit, and said John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, will attend in Biden’s place.

In his 30-minute address, Biden also repeatedly emphasized the value of institutions such as the United Nations and international coalitions that has helped the world confront significant challenges such as poverty and disease, as well as echoing his defense of democracy, a common theme of his presidency.

“We will not retreat from the values that make us strong,” Biden said. “We will defend democracy — our best tool to meet the challenges that we face around the world. And we’re working to show how democracy can deliver in ways that matter to people’s lives.”

The annual forum was a chance for Biden to showcase to other world leaders — and the 2024 U.S. electorate — that he’s reestablished U.S. leadership on the world stage that he says was diminished under Trump.

There were some notable absences as Biden addressed the General Assembly: British Prime Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin — the leaders of the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — are all skipping the gathering. U.S. officials downplayed that fact and instead emphasized the importance that Biden attaches to showing up at the annual diplomatic forum.

For Biden, the more important audience for Tuesday’s speech could be closer to home as he looks to make the case to voters that he’s skillfully handled a complicated foreign policy agenda and that the experience that comes with age has proved to be an asset. It’s an argument that the 80-year-old Biden is likely to continue to make to counter skepticism — even in his own Democratic Party — among voters who are concerned about his age.

After the speech, Biden sat down with Guterres, and later Tuesday met with leaders from the so-called C5 group of Central Asian nations, which include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Saying the cooperation among the nations is at “new heights,” Biden outlined several areas of collaboration including on critical minerals and disability rights.

Xi has stepped up his own courting of those countries. During his own summit in May with the Central Asian leaders, Xi promised to build more railway and other trade links with the region and proposed jointly developing oil and gas sources.

“We are stronger, and I genuinely believe the world is safer, when we stand together, our five nations,” Biden said following the closed-door meeting with the leaders.

Biden is scheduled to host talks Thursday at the White House with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Days before potentially crossing paths with Russia’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested Monday that the world body needs to answer for allowing his country’s invader a seat at the tables of power.

“For us, it’s very important that all our words, all our messages, will be heard by our partners. And if in the United Nations still — it’s a pity, but still — there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question is not to me. I think it’s a question to all the members of the United Nations,” Zelenskyy said after visiting wounded Ukrainian military members at a New York hospital.

He had just arrived in the U.S. to make his country’s case to the world and to Washington for continued help in trying to repel Russia’s invasion, nearly 19 months into what has become a grinding war.

Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied weapons and other assistance, and the U.S. Congress is currently weighing President Joe Biden’s request to provide as much as $24 billion more in military and humanitarian aid.

U.S. lawmakers are increasingly divided over providing additional money to Ukraine. Zelenskyy is scheduled to spend some time Thursday on Capitol Hill and meet with Biden at the White House.

Before that, Zelenskyy is due to address world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday and speak Wednesday at a U.N. Security Council meeting about Ukraine. Russia is a permanent, veto-wielding member of the council, and Foreign Minister Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to make remarks.

Asked whether he’d stay in the room to listen, Zelenskyy said, “I don’t know how it will be, really.”

Zelenskyy has taken the United Nations to task before — even before the war launched by a neighbor that, as a Security Council member, is entrusted with maintaining international peace and security. In one memorable example, he lamented at the General Assembly in 2021 that the U.N. was ”a retired superhero who’s long forgotten how great they once were.”

Traveling to the U.S. for the first time since December, he began his trip with a stop at Staten Island University Hospital. The medical facility has, to date, treated 18 Ukrainian military members who lost limbs in the war, said Michael J. Dowling, the CEO of hospital parent company Northwell Health.

With help from a New Jersey-based charity called Kind Deeds, the injured have gotten fitted for prostheses and are undergoing outpatient physical therapy.

Zelenskyy greeted several injured troops as they exercised in a rehab gym. He asked about their wounds, wished them a speedy recovery and thanked them for their service.

“How are you doing? Is it difficult?” Zelenskyy asked one military member, who paused and then said it was OK.

“Stay strong,” Zelenskyy replied, later telling the group their country was grateful and proud of them.

Later, in a hospital conference room, he awarded medals to the injured, posed for photos, signed a large Ukrainian flag and thanked medical personnel and the injured troops.

“We all will be waiting for you back home,” he said. “We absolutely need every one of you.”

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. chief on Tuesday decried the “terrible truth” that the world is failing to live up to its commitments to protect a growing number of civilians caught in conflicts. The International Committee of the Red Cross, the guardian of treaties enshrining those commitments, lamented that countless civilians are experiencing “a living hell.”

From Ukraine and Sudan to Africa’s Sahel and the Mideast, civilians are scrambling to evade missiles and explosives and to find food and medicine — and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Security Council should urge countries to respect the rules of war.

“Governments with influence over warring parties should engage in political dialogue and train forces on protecting civilians,” he said. “And countries that export weapons should refuse to do business with any party that fails to comply with international humanitarian law.”

His recent report on the protection of civilians in conflicts in 2022 points to over 100 conflicts worldwide and an average duration of more than 30 years. Last year, though, saw new highs for the number of people forcibly displaced and a 53% increase in U.N. recorded civilian deaths to nearly 17,000, including almost 8,000 in Ukraine.

Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said during recent visits to Africa, Europe and the Mideast she saw a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation with “entire regions trapped in cycles of conflict without an end in sight.”

Spoljaric said many of the conflicts are compounded by climate shocks, food insecurity and economic hardship. She issued an urgent call to countries to protect civilians and critical infrastructure in urban areas, pointing to large-scale destruction in Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. She also urged that food be provided to all civilians in conflict areas and for access to be given to humanitarian workers.

“We need to break the pattern of violations, and this can be done through strong political will and sustained action,” she said.

Switzerland, which is serving its first two-year term on the Security Council, chose the protection of civilians in conflict as its showcase event. Representatives from over 80 countries were scheduled to speak, a reflection of widespread concern.

Swiss President Alain Berset, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting, said that as the depository state for the Geneva Conventions and the home of the Geneva-based ICRC, respect for international humanitarian law was a long-standing priority for the country.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity rose to 258 million last year, which he noted was “30 times the population of New York City. More than two-thirds of them live in conflict zones, including in Congo, Sudan, the Sahel, Somalia, Myanmar and Afghanistan, or in countries where violence is widespread such as Haiti, Berset said.

He urged all countries to implement a 2018 Security Council resolution against the use of starvation as a method of warfare and unlawfully denying humanitarian access and life-saving supplies to civilians, and a 2021 resolution condemning unlawful attacks that deprive civilians of essential services.

The meeting saw clashes between Ukraine’s Western supporters and Russia, as the council has seen at many sessions since Moscow’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of its neighbor.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the increase in civilian deaths shows the human toll of the war. She also accused Russia of pushing millions of people in Africa and the Middle East into food insecurity by using “food as a weapon of war in Ukraine,” including blocking Ukrainian grain shipments for months.

She said the agreement allowing the shipment of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports, which was extended for two months on May 17, was a “beacon of hope to the world.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed very little of the more than 30 million tons of grain shipped under the Black Sea deal has gone to developing countries, and that the shipment from Russia of ammonia — a key ingredient of fertilizer — that was supposed to be part of the July 2022 deal “has effectively not even begun.”

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