‘Do not let Putin drag you into this war’: Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges India, 46 nations at UN

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday urged India and 46 other countries to prevent their citizens from being drawn into the RussiaUkraine war alleging that Russia was recruiting nationals from several countries and sending them to the battlefieldAddressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly Zelenskyy said citizens of 47 countries were being used in the conflict and alleged that some had been brought to Russia through what he described as deception and tricksZelenskyy names India among countries whose citizens are involvedVolodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was using citizens from countries including India Ghana Nepal Tajikistan Yemen Kenya Zimbabwe Cuba Belarus Sudan and South Africa among othersWe know that Russia uses citizens of 47 countries in its war Ghana Nepal Tajikistan India Yemen Kenya Zimbabwe Cuba Belarus Sudan South Africa many others We also see people dying on the battlefield who are not Russiansrdquo people from your countries 47 countries who ended up in Russia through deception and tricksHe then directly addressed representatives of the countries whose citizens he said were involved in the conflict urging them to take steps to protect their nationalsI want to speak directly to every representative of these 47 countries You know what Russia is doing with your people your citizens Take care of them and do not let them end up on another front Do not let Putin drag you into this warLimit his room to act limit his money limit his waracirceuro he saidZelenskyyrsquos remarks came during the highlevel segment of the UN General Assemblyrsquos 81st session which is being held in New York from September 22 to 28India says 227 nationals were recruited into Russian armed forcesIndia has previously provided figures on its nationals recruited into the Russian armed forcesForeign Secretary Vikram Misri said on August 31 that India had information on 227 Indian nationals who had been recruited into the Russian armed forces Of these 139 had been discharged and 51 had died while New Delhi remained in discussions with Moscow for the release and repatriation of those still servingThe Indian Embassy in Moscow has also been monitoring the situation and working with Russian authorities on the release of Indian nationalsZelenskyyrsquos comments at the UN came against this backdrop with Ukraine seeking international support to restrict Russiarsquos ability to sustain the warUkraine seeks restrictions on Russiarsquos war financingZelenskyy also spoke about pressure on Russiarsquos energy sector and said Ukrainersquos objective was to limit Moscowrsquos ability to finance and continue the conflictHe said Russiarsquos oil industry which he described as a source of national pride was facing significant pressure for the first time in the countryrsquos historyOil itself is not Ukraines target not our target not gasoline or diesel not factories or ports Our target is Russias ability to finance this war to drag it out to make it more brutal and more destructive he saidRussias finances and Russias production are what must be stopped if Putin is to be stopped Zelenskyy addedHis remarks came as Ukraine continues to call for measures aimed at reducing Russiarsquos capacity to finance military operations and maintain its war effortZelenskyy raises North Korean military involvementThe Ukrainian president also accused North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of providing military support to Russia in the conflictZelenskyy alleged that North Korea had sent troops to Russia and was receiving advanced military capabilities in return He said the cooperation included areas such as ballistic missile capabilities and drone technologyHe also questioned the involvement of North Korean citizens in the conflict and referred to the deaths of North Korean personnel fighting alongside Russian forcesYou probably saw the broadcast from Pyongyang when they honoured those who were killed And this is madness too Why should Koreans give their lives in a war against Ukraine he saidUN General Assembly focuses on RussiaUkraine conflictZelenskyyrsquos address formed part of a wider international discussion on the RussiaUkraine war during the UN General Assembly The 81st session opened on September 8 with the General Debate beginning on September 22 and continuing through the highlevel weekThe Ukrainian president has continued to seek international support for measures aimed at reducing Russiarsquos military and financial capacity while also urging countries whose citizens are serving with Russian forces to secure their releaseIndia meanwhile has maintained diplomatic engagement with Moscow over Indian nationals recruited into the Russian armed forces with the government seeking the discharge and repatriation of those who remainWith inputs from ANI