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Under mounting international scrutiny and a sharp escalation in cross-border military actions, Russia deepened its diplomatic push at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held back-to-back meetings with nearly two dozen counterparts, from Africa to Latin America, positioning Moscow as a reliable partner for the Global South amid a widening rift with the West.  File Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov The messaging came as NATO states issued fresh warnings over Russian drones, missiles and fighter jets violating airspace across Eastern Europe, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly warned Kremlin officials to “know where the bomb shelters are.” In a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lavrov claimed Russia remained open to negotiations on Ukraine and reiterated Moscow’s interest in building on the outcomes of the Trump-Putin Alaska summit.  The Russian side accused Kyiv and unna...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Kremlin leaders to “know where the bomb shelters are” in an escalation of rhetoric, as Moscow deepens its military provocations against NATO and the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year.  The comments came shortly after his address to the United Nations General Assembly, and amid fresh airspace violations across Europe attributed to Russian fighter jets and drones. File Photo: Dmitry Medvedev In an interview with Axios , Zelenskyy said he had received permission from U.S. President Donald Trump to target Russian energy and infrastructure assets, and had also requested a specific weapons system from Washington that he believes could force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.  He declined to specify the system, but said: “They have to know that we in Ukraine, each day, we will answer. If they attack us, we will answer them.” The warning provoked a direct and incendiary response from former Russian Pres...

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a pointed address at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York on Thursday, warning that ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are not only escalating geopolitical instability but also inflicting deep economic damage on the Global South. India's Foreign Minister Speaking on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly Speaking on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, Jaishankar said the correlation between international peace and global development is no longer theoretical -- it is now “well established” as both continue to deteriorate in parallel.  He cited soaring costs and disrupted access to food, energy, and fertilizer as direct consequences of war, disproportionately impacting the developing world. “The costs, especially to the Global South, were starkly demonstrated by ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza,” he said. “Making energy and other essentials more uncerta...

India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar just chaired a High-Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South countries on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. He urged developing nations to act collectively in shaping global governance frameworks, including reforming multilateral institutions. Jaishankar just chaired a High-Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South countries Addressing the assembled ministers and representatives, Jaishankar laid out a pointed five-pronged agenda for strengthening the Global South’s role in world affairs.  Pleased to meet FM Lejone Mpotjoana of Lesotho today on the sidelines of the High Level Meeting. 🇮🇳 🇱🇸 #UNGA80 pic.twitter.com/3hXORk1uoG — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 24, 2025 Emphasizing the urgency of coordinated action in an era marked by rising risks and complex challenges, he underlined that it is “natural” for the Global South to turn to multilateralism for solutions -- but on t...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in New York on Tuesday for a critical week of diplomacy at the United Nations General Assembly, as his country faces intensifying Russian attacks and mounting battlefield strain.  With nearly two dozen high-level meetings scheduled—including one with U.S. President Donald Trump—Zelenskyy is expected to make a direct appeal for tougher sanctions against Moscow and renewed international pressure to halt the more than three-year-old war. Image Source: The Kyiv Post His arrival follows a surge in Russian military action. Overnight missile and drone attacks on Odesa and Zaporizhzhia killed at least two civilians, while Ukraine’s air force reported it had intercepted over 100 drones in a single night.  Russia, meanwhile, claimed to have shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones aimed at Moscow, forcing temporary flight suspensions at the capital’s Sheremetyevo airport. The Kremlin’s air campaign appears to be aimed at eroding morale and inf...

As the 80th United Nations General Assembly opened in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a warning to world leaders: global peace and progress are under siege, and the world is teetering between cooperation and collapse.  In his annual address, Guterres urged nations to choose law over lawlessness and solidarity over self-interest, declaring that the “pillars of peace and progress are buckling under the weight of impunity, inequality, and indifference.” Secretary-General António Guterres Against this backdrop of rising wars, deepening poverty, and intensifying climate disasters, Guterres issued one of his sharpest criticisms yet of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.  Without naming Israel directly, he described the devastation there as the worst he has witnessed in nearly nine years at the helm of the UN, stating bluntly that “nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”  He called for immediate implementation of the Int...

US President Donald Trump’s return to the United Nations General Assembly in New York was marked by a volatile mix of confrontation and contradiction, with the U.S. leader using the global platform to deride the institution’s role in international peacekeeping, issue warnings to Europe over immigration and climate policy, and tout what he called second-term foreign policy successes.  But in a private meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Trump reversed course and pledged full U.S. support to the same organization he had branded ineffective. Trump’s UN address was steeped in nationalist rhetoric and criticism of multilateralism. He accused the UN of issuing “empty words” in the face of global conflicts and warned that its failure to act was a key reason for continuing wars.  He particularly targeted European countries for what he called a “double-tailed monster” of immigration and green energy policies, predicting these would “destroy their heritage.” Among a st...

Poland’s push to build international consensus over repeated Russian drone violations of its airspace has drawn only limited backing at the United Nations, exposing deep divisions in the global response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.  A joint declaration condemning Russia’s alleged role in nineteen incursions into Polish skies secured the support of just 46 of the UN’s 193 member states. Poland Pushes UN on Drone Violations. Via: Nitton 57 Signatories included major Western powers such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea, alongside Poland and Ukraine. Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain, Norway, Hungary, and Georgia also endorsed the statement.  But the lack of wider support underlines how much of the world remains either neutral or aligned with Moscow despite NATO’s alarm. Poland’s Armed Forces reported destroying multiple unmanned aerial vehicles overnight on September 10, saying nineteen violations of its airspace had been recorded...

At a time when the world marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations in 1945, the debate over the future of global governance has reached a decisive moment.  What began as an institution designed to prevent another world war and promote collective security is now confronted by widening fractures in legitimacy, authority, and effectiveness. Image Source: China_Amb_India Against this backdrop, China has unveiled its Global Governance Initiative (GGI) , a concept paper that seeks to place reform of international institutions at the heart of the 21st century multipolar order. From Post-War Order to Multipolar Realities The United Nations was conceived in an era dominated by the victors of the Second World War.  The Security Council’s permanent membership and veto structure reflected the geopolitical realities of 1945.  Eight decades later, with the rise of emerging economies and the collective weight of the Global South, the imbalance in represent...