Zelensky calls Putin 'patient zero' of war at UN address

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russian President Vladimir Putin the "patient zero" of war, stating that the more freedom Putin has to act, the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone. Speaking before the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Zelensky questioned whether Putin could be imagined without war, describing him as the source from which the idea of war spreads, bringing pain, instability, and new crises. He stressed the need to deprive Putin of room to maneuver and to stop Russia's financial and production capabilities. Zelensky also claimed Russia's oil industry is weakening and accused Putin of seeking to seize more Ukrainian cities beyond Donetsk, while threatening Moldova, Poland, and the Baltic states. "Patient zero" is a medical term for the first person diagnosed with an infectious disease.