He said Russia, which is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council alongside the UK, was behind the “greatest violation of the (UN) charter in a generation”.

David Hughes reports:

Around 60 per cent of the foreign parts found in Russian weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine come via China, Ukraine‘s presidential adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk has said.

“If you take all the usual types of weapons and count the foreign made components about 60% would be coming from China. We have had lengthy discussions with some manufacturers about this,” Vlasiuk said.

“The PRC (China) is the biggest problem I would say.”

Russia is treating its own citizens as “bits of meat to fling into the grinder” in Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer said as he urged Vladimir Putin to end the conflict.

The Prime Minister, speaking at the UN Security Council, said Russia was responsible for “colossal human suffering” as a result of the conflict.

He said Russia, like the UK one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, was behind the “greatest violation of the (UN) charter in a generation”.

“I wonder how Russia can show its face in this building,” he added.

Sir Keir said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is illegal. It threatens global security. And it has caused colossal human suffering.

“Over 35,000 civilians have been killed or injured, six million forced to flee and almost 20,000 Ukrainian children forcefully deported. Kidnapped, to put it bluntly.”

Some 600,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded, Sir Keir said.

“The UN Charter – which they sit here to uphold – speaks of human dignity. Not treating your own citizens as bits of meat to fling into the grinder,” he added.

A Russian strike on Ukraine‘s eastern town of Kramatorsk has killed at least one person and injured 15 more, the Donetsk region governor said.

Two apartment blocks, shops and cars were damaged, Vadym Filashkin added on the Telegram messenger.

The United States is deeply concerned by a report that Russia has a secret war drones project in China that appears to be an instance of a Chinese company providing lethal assistance to a U.S.-sanctioned Russian firm , a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council has said.

The White House has not seen anything to suggest that China’s government was aware of these transactions, the spokesperson said, but China has a responsibility to ensure companies are not providing lethal aid to Russia for use by its military.

Read the full report on the secret war drones project below:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged global leaders to stand with his country and not seek “an out” instead of a “real, just peace” more than two years into Russia’s war.

At a time when he faces growing pressure from Western allies and some of his fellow Ukrainians to negotiate a cease-fire, Mr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly there’s no alternative to the “peace formula” he presented two years ago.

Among other things, it seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine and accountability for war crimes.

 “Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war,” he said. 

“Do not divide the world. Be united nations. And that will bring us peace.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky questioned the “true interest” of a push by China and Brazil to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, telling the United Nations General Assembly: “You will not boost your power at Ukraine‘s expense.”

“When some propose alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles, it not only ignores the interests and suffering of Ukrainians ... it not only ignores reality, but also gives (Russian President Vladimir) Putin the political space to continue the war,” Zelensky told the 193-member body.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said Vladimir Putin is attempting to “‘break the Ukrainian spirit”.

“Russia has destroyed all our thermal power plants and a large part of our hydroelectric capacity. This is how Putin is preparing for winter, hoping to torment millions of Ukrainians … Putin wants to leave them in the dark and force Ukraine to suffer and surrender,” he told the UN General assembly.

He added “God forbid, Russia causes a nuclear disaster at one of our nuclear power plants, radiation will not respect state borders.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is currently addressing the UN general assembly.

He is expected to seek support for Ukraine in the war against Russia, and to present his “victory plan”.

Russian emergency services have said that a Ukrainian drone dropped a munition on the territory of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Wednesday though there was no damage, Russian state news agency RIA reported, citing local emergency services.

The Independent was unable to immediately verify the report.

Ukraine‘s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, has been controlled by Russian forces since March 2022, and remains close to the frontline between the two sides.