“Shady deals” with Russia must be stopped as Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said in an emphatic address to the UN General Assembly. Notorious mercenary leader and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin died in an unexplained crash when a plane carrying him and some of his top lieutenants went down while flying between Moscow and St Petersburg in late August. Western leaders have suspected the Kremlin’s involvement in his death as the mercenary leader had attempted a coup in Russia just weeks before. “Evil cannot be trusted – ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises,” Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday, claiming he was aware of “attempts to make some shady deals behind the scenes”. “Please, hear me. Let unity decide everything openly,” he said. The war-time leader told the UN assembly that Russia has no rights to hold nuclear weapons while it continues to blackmail other nations by weaponising food. “History shows that it was Russia who deserved nuclear disarmament. Terrorists have no right to hold nuclear weapons,” he told the UN member states gathered in New York. He called for a global front on the war and warned of dangers from Russia to the UN General Assembly. “The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our lands, our people, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules-based order. Many seats in the General Assembly hall may become empty if Russia succeeds with its treachery and aggression,” he said. Mr Zelensky was addressing the gathering at a sensitive point in his country’s campaign to maintain international support for its fight against the invasion. Nearly 19 months after Moscow launched its war, Ukrainian forces have stepped up a counteroffensive that has continued for three months now amid comments that it has not gone on as fast or as well as initially hoped. “We must stand up to this naked aggression today and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” US president Joe Biden earlier told the assembly. The world must remain united in defending Ukraine, he said, warning that no nation can be secure if “we allow Ukraine to be carved up”. This is not the first time Mr Zelensky has blamed the Russian regime under Mr Putin for Prigozhin’s death. Earlier this month, he said Mr Putin orchestrated the killing of Wagner boss Prigozhin. “The fact that he killed Prigozhin – at least that’s the information we all have, not any other kind – that also speaks to his rationality, and about the fact that he is weak,” he had said. Russia will get its chance to address the General Assembly on Saturday. Its deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky was in Russia’s seat during Mr Zelensky’s address. “Did he speak?” Mr Polyansky said when an Associated Press reporter asked about his reaction to the address. “I didn’t notice he was speaking. I was on my phone.” Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin ‘weaponising’ food as troops target cargo ship in Black Sea Russia is ‘weaponising’ food, energy and children in war on Ukraine, Zelensky tells UN Drones shot down over Russian cities near Ukraine border in overnight attack Russia’s UN ambassador plays on phone as Biden addresses Assembly Republicans at war over Ukraine funding as Zelensky flies into town

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Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández made it official Tuesday that she will not be running for president again, putting the brakes on an effort by members of her party to push her to become a candidate in the October election. Fernández, who was president 2007-2015, made her decision public through a statement published on her website in which she slammed the judiciary, accusing the courts of trying to forbid her from running for office again as part of an alliance with the opposition. With her decision, the center-left Fernández throws the ruling Peronist party into disarray amid uncertainty over who could be its candidate in this year’s presidential elections. President Alberto Fernández, whose tenure has been marked by an ongoing economic crisis that has included a sharp devaluation of the local currency and annual inflation of more than 100%, already said last month he would not be seeking reelection. “I will not be a puppet of those in power for the sake of any candidacy. I have demonstrated, like no one else, that I prioritize the collective project over personal ambitions,” Cristina Fernández said. The 70-year-old vice president said she’s prevented from running for office by a prison sentence of six years and a lifelong ban from holding public office she received late last year as part of a case involving corruption through public works during her presidency. She has denied all charges and the ruling still has to be confirmed by higher courts before it becomes effective. “I will not engage in the perverse game they impose on us under the guise of democracy,” she wrote. Allies of the vice president have been pushing for her to run for the presidency and regularly chant “President Cristina” during her public appearances. Although Fernández, who is not related to current president Alberto Fernández, had already said she wouldn’t run for president, she often played coy in public speeches. The vice president published her statement days before allies had announced a big rally in downtown Buenos Aires on May 25, which is a national holiday in Argentina, to push her to run. With both the president and vice president out of the running, all eyes are now likely to set on Economy Minister Sergio Massa, a center-right Peronist who has long had presidential ambitions although his tenure in the office he took on last year has not gone as he hoped. Massa had said his goal was for monthly inflation to decelerate to 3% by April. Instead, it accelerated to 8.4%. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

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