2 outlets · filed 23 September 2026

Ukraine: Zelensky says Putin 'patient zero' for spreading war

🇺🇦 🇺🇳 Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "patient zero" for spreading war in the region with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president also asked world leaders to cut back on buying oil from Russia, in a b

What the coverage shows

All three outlets frame the story around Zelensky’s UN address and his attack on Putin, with France 24 and The Hill specifically foregrounding the claim that Russia is using fighters or citizens from 47 countries. The Independent is the outlier, recasting the speech as a wider metaphor about Putin spreading war globally and Ukraine having a “cure.” France 24 and The Hill also note Zelensky’s references to North Korea, while France 24 alone mentions his warning about Russian heating and energy targets.

Written by Crossfiled from the 2 headlines and extracts below, not from the articles themselves. It describes how the outlets framed this, not what happened. Open any headline for a summary of that article.

In this story

The Hill

How it broke

More on World & War

• Ex-American Idol singer Caleb Flynn convicted of fatally shooting his wife 5 outlets
• Estonia blames Russia for arson at defence company supplying Ukraine 3 outlets
• The Russian Prison That Evan Gershkovich Carried Home 3 outlets
• US forces leave Iraq, raising fears of Iran-backed militias amid power vacuum 2 outlets
• Senate blocks Democratic effort to force report on West Bank violence 2 outlets
• British authorities defend decision to let terror suspects go on bail 2 outlets