Zelensky calls Putin 'patient zero,' says Russia has broken ceasefire promises 17-18 times in 5 years

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a pointed speech Wednesday (local time), calling Russian President Vladimir Putin "patient zero" in remarks that drew wide attention at the UN General Assembly in New York.

"We must stop patient zero," Zelensky said in his address. "We must cut off the space for him to act and the space for him to spread evil."

The reference appeared to cast Putin as the original source of infection — the first carrier of a contagion.

"The more freedom Putin is given to act, the more dangerous the world becomes," Zelensky said, adding that Russia harbors ambitions against neighboring Moldova and "constantly threatens" Poland and the three Baltic states.

Zelensky said Russian military casualties from January through August reached 248,000, yet Russia had seized no more than 1,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory. "But they keep going there and dying, and Putin wants that," he said.

He went on to say Russia keeps repeating "false claims" that it will seize the Donetsk region, saying Moscow had made such promises "17 to 18 times over five years."

"We know this winter could be very harsh," Zelensky said. "Russia will have no choice but to be made to suffer as well."

The Russian delegation, which had taken seats in the UN chamber, remained in place and watched Zelensky's speech without leaving.

Meanwhile, Russia said Wednesday that any meeting between President Putin and US President Donald Trump must come only after proper preparation.

The remarks came after Zelensky, who traveled to New York for the UN General Assembly, said he had met with Trump to discuss proposals for ending the war.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, asked at a briefing about the possibility of a summit between the two leaders, said Putin "is ready," according to Tass. "President Putin and President Trump have always said in phone calls that they are ready to meet again whenever necessary," Peskov said.

He went on to say that holding a summit "before expert-level preparatory work is completed would be inappropriate — it would simply be a waste of time."

Earlier, Zelensky said he hoped the United States would find a way to bring Russia to negotiations in some form, and that he was prepared to meet Putin in a trilateral format alongside Trump.

In response, Peskov repeated Russia's standing position, saying Putin had previously stated that Zelensky "can come to Moscow if he wants, and his safety will be guaranteed."

Peskov also said the Kyiv government "still exhibits conduct close to acts of terrorism," adding that "the preconditions for moving toward peaceful negotiations are not in place at this time."