Zelensky mourns Charlie Kirk and Ukrainian refugee murdered on bus in new speech

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday mourning the murders of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutsk - the Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death on a train in North Carolina.

Zelensky spoke of Kirk and Zarutska prior to offering a stark warning to his fellow world leaders about what he called the "most destructive arms race in human history," which he believes is taking place with the rise of drone warfare and artificial intelligence

"Excellencies. Yesterday, President Trump stood right here in this hall, and God saved him from a murder attempt during the campaign. A shot was fired from a rifle, and just a fraction of an inch saved his life. Just days ago, the president, along with hundreds of thousands of Americans, honored the memory of Charlie Kirk. Sadly, his life was cut short by a bullet-once again, violence with a rifle in hand," Zelensky said.

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Zelensky spoke from the podium of the vast assembly chamber a day after he met with Trump, who expressed support for Ukraine's efforts and criticized Russia. Trump said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader's repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war sparked by President Vladimir Putin's February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbor.

Zelensky did not comment on the surprise U.S. pivot, saying only that he had "a good meeting" with Trump and with many other "strong leaders."

"Together, we can change a lot," he said, expressing appreciation for support from the United States. and Europe and urging all U.N. member nations to condemn Russia while it "keeps dragging this war on."

If Putin isn't stopped now, the Ukrainian president warned the assembly that he will keep driving the war forward, "wider and deeper."

"Ukraine is only the first, and now Russian drones are already flying across Europe, and Russian operations are already spreading across countries," he said.

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Several other leaders also condemned Kirk's death, who was gunned down while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

Decrying the "sick expression of joy for the crime committed against an innocent person," Serbian President Alexsandar Vucic told assembled leaders on Wednesday that reaction to Kirk's death represents "the best confirmation of that."

On Wednesday, Vucic said reaction to the conservative activist's assassination was demarcated "less by ideological but much more by emotional hate driven differences."

"Such a development devastates in a deepest and clearest way the world political community much more than conflicts with clear and visible actors," Vucic said, remarking on how such a seemingly singular event can evoke such strong reactions across the globe.

"He was savagely assassinated just because his killer did not like his ideas," Vucic said of Kirk, suggesting that some of the reaction in the slaying's aftermath caused yet more damage in terms of the division it sowed. "He was shot even after death by the same ones who had prepared political and media grounds for his assassination."

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña also mentioned Kirk in his speech Wednesday, saying in Spanish that he was "shaken, saddened, and distressed" by Kirk's killing and arguing that the "macabre response must awaken us from our sleepy state of complacency."