President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine issued a stark warning to world leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday, saying more weapons were needed to defend his country after international institutions had failed to maintain peace.
“No one but ourselves can guarantee our security,” he said in an address to the U.N. General Assembly. “International law does not fully function without powerful friends ready to defend it. Even having friends won’t work without weapons. The only guarantee of security is friends and weapons.”
Yet even as Mr. Zelensky issued a call to arms, he warned that rapid advances in military technology and artificial intelligence, spurred by Russian’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, meant “weapons are evolving faster than our ability to defend ourselves.”
“We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history,” he added, saying Russia was to blame.
It was a remarkable effort to connect two seemingly contradictory ideas.
For Ukrainians, however, the idea is neither novel nor abstract. Every day, the war is being waged using new technologies that are transforming military conflict.
Ukraine has become a global leader in developing and using inexpensive drones and is testing those innovations in real time on the battlefield. Russia is also deploying new technologies in its military offensive against Ukraine.
“The 21st century is hardly different from the last: a people who desire peace must work on armament,” he said. “It is abnormal, but this is the reality — weapons decide who survives.”
Mr. Zelensky sought to demonstrate to world leaders that they should not see the war against his country as a distant threat but as a clear and present danger. He painted an image of world where all ports would need to be defended against maritime drones, where drug cartels could use drones to wreak havoc and where terrorists could kill more easily than ever.
“Now the question is only who will first create a simple drone capable of delivering nuclear warheads,” Mr. Zelensky said.
The future, he said, would be even more dangerous with the integration of A.I. into drones, and he called for regulation of the technology.
“It won’t be long before drones appear that will attack critical infrastructure completely autonomously, without human involvement,” he warned. “We need rules regarding the use of A.I. in weapons. This is as urgent as stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.”
But the first step, he said, was stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We all must use our capabilities to stop the aggressor,” he said. “Only then is there a chance that this arms race will not turn into a catastrophe.”
Marc Santora has been reporting from Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia. He was previously based in London as an international news editor focused on breaking news events and earlier the bureau chief for East and Central Europe, based in Warsaw. He has also reported extensively from Iraq and Africa.
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