political2022• United Nations General Assembly, New York (via video)

Address to the UN General Assembly

Volodymyr Zelensky

Seven months into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the UN General Assembly via video — the first leader granted that exception. Wearing his now-iconic olive military shirt, he spoke not as a diplomat but as a wartime leader, demanding that the international community move from sympathetic statements to concrete action: a tribunal, weapons, and reform of the UN Security Council that allowed an aggressor to hold a veto.

Watch the Speech

Speech Structure

Opening — A formula for peace

Zelensky frames the speech around a five-point peace formula, giving the world a concrete proposal rather than a plea.

Indictment of Russia

Methodical catalogue of war crimes: Bucha, filtration camps, forced deportations, energy terror — each item documented and named.

Failure of institutions

Direct challenge to the UN: an aggressor sits on the Security Council with a veto. The system designed to prevent war is enabling it.

Call for a tribunal

Specific demand for a special tribunal to hold Russia accountable, modelled on Nuremberg.

Closing — Punishment as peace

Reframes punishment of the aggressor as the only path to lasting peace, inverting calls for negotiation.

Rhetorical Techniques

Anaphora

"Repeated 'A crime has been committed against Ukraine' framing each documented atrocity."

Hammers each war crime into the record, turning a speech into an indictment.

Concrete specificity

"Naming Bucha, Izyum, Mariupol — and the exact numbers of deportees and missile strikes."

Forces the audience to confront facts rather than abstractions, making denial untenable.

Inversion of expectations

"Arguing that punishment, not negotiation, is the precondition for peace."

Disrupts the diplomatic instinct toward compromise and reframes accountability as peacemaking.

Symbolic appearance

"Speaking via video in olive military attire while world leaders sat in suits."

Visual rhetoric — every frame reminds the audience that the speaker is at war while they deliberate.

Key Quotes

"A crime has been committed against Ukraine, and we demand just punishment."

"The UN Charter is being violated literally from the first article."

"You can return to it the effectiveness it lost — and you can do it only together."

"Punishment for the crime of aggression. Punishment for violation of borders and territorial integrity. Punishment for attempts to destroy a nation."

Delivery Analysis

Pace

Steady and forceful, slower than his early-war addresses — closer to a prosecutor than a rallying speaker.

Tone

Cold determination. The fury is restrained, channelled into precision.

Pauses

Long pauses after each named atrocity, letting the weight settle.

Gestures

Minimal — the static video frame focuses attention on the words and the uniform.

Why It Works

Moral clarity

Zelensky refuses the language of 'both sides,' naming Russia as aggressor and Ukraine as defender without qualification.

Concrete demands

Replaces vague calls for support with a five-point formula and a specific tribunal proposal — making inaction visible.

Symbolic authority

The military shirt and video format tell the story before he speaks: this is a wartime leader, not a politician.

Lessons for Your Speech

Replace pleas with proposals

When asking for support, give your audience a specific, actionable plan. Vague appeals invite vague responses.

Let appearance carry argument

What you wear, where you stand, and how you appear can do as much rhetorical work as your words. Match your visual to your message.

Name specifics, not abstractions

Atrocities, numbers, places — concrete details make denial impossible and apathy uncomfortable.

Legacy & Impact

The speech crystallised global support for Ukraine into a framework — the peace formula became the basis for subsequent diplomatic summits. It accelerated discussions on Security Council reform and international criminal accountability for state aggression. Zelensky's wartime communication style has been studied as a new template for crisis leadership in the social media era, where authenticity and visible stakes outweigh polished delivery.