Podcast “Ukraine – the situation”
Mölling: Ukraine will receive less support in New York because Russia is drumming up more success
Volodymyr Zelensky will give a speech at the UN in New York
© Eduardo Munoz/Pool AP / DPA
The UN General Assembly meets in New York. Security expert Christian Mölling believes that Russia has an advantage in the battle for the narrative. The result: More states than before will not take a clear position on Ukraine.
Security expert Christian Mölling expects the United Nations General Assembly to be an important test of sentiment for global support Ukraine. Mölling said in starpodcast, he expects that more states than before will abstain on the Ukraine issue. “Russia has worked a lot over the last year to polish its own image abroad,” said the research director of the German Council on Foreign Relations.
“More states will abstain”
“Russia is fighting the battle for the narrative much more aggressively and very successfully.” In contrast, “the West has basically been pretty asleep.” Mölling also pointed out that Russia supported dictators with great success. Overall, he expects “that more states will abstain than before.”
Mölling sees the Ukrainian president’s speech as an important opportunity for Volodymyr Zelensky to establish direct contact with world leaders. Unlike last year, he not only sent a video message, but also appeared in New York himself. Mölling explained that the General Assembly was gaining in importance because the Security Council – the UN’s real center of power – was largely paralyzed. Russia has veto rights there. “The aggressor is essentially his own judge,” said Mölling, referring to the Russian war of aggression.
Zelensky visits US President Biden
Zelenskyj will travel from New York to Washington, where he will meet US President Joe Biden and important representatives of Congress. According to Mölling’s assessment, parts of the Republican Party are also willing to continue to provide military support to Ukraine. However, decisions are already being made with a view to the question of whether they could become a burden in the election campaign next year.
The expert reacted skeptically to Zelensky’s warnings in an interview with the US broadcaster CBS about a third world war and doubted that the overthrow of President Vladimir Putin would improve the situation in Russia. If Putin is replaced, democratization cannot be expected. “Then there will be a very rough phase – and after that there will still be someone who has asserted himself through violence and the means of violence.”