A video lasting just 24 seconds, recorded this Wednesday outside the UN headquarters in New York, became one of the most discussed moments of the 81st General Assembly when Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski responded with a single phrase to a Russian state journalist who persistently asked him when he would visit Moscow.
"In a missile", the leader remarked over his shoulder without stopping, surrounded by bodyguards and reporters.
The author of the question was Valentin Bogdanov, a correspondent for the Russian state channel VGTRK/Vesti, who repeatedly asked, «When will he go to Moscow? Will he go to Moscow? When?» as Zelensky made his way through the crowd.
Some international media outlets indicate that the response may have been accompanied by a vulgar expression, although the audio does not clearly confirm this.
The scene has a precise diplomatic backdrop. Since the summer of 2025, the Kremlin insisted that any bilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin and Zelensky should take place in Moscow, even going so far as to offer "security guarantees" for the trip.
Zelenski rejected the proposed plan and referred to the Russian capital as "the capital of this terrorist" in an interview with ABC News. Ukraine formally declared the invitation "unacceptable," and in September 2026, Russia also dismissed a meeting at the G20 in Miami, calling it "impossible."
The response "in a missile" is not just a sarcastic reply: it accurately summarizes Ukraine's military strategy in recent months.
Only three days before the incident, Zelensky confirmed a massive attack with drones and missiles against the Kapotnia refinery —which supplies 40% of Moscow's gasoline— and the Sofyino logistics complex in the region of the Russian capital, resulting in two deaths and six injuries.
Among the systems used was the cruise missile FP-5 Flamingo, with a reported range of 3,000 km and a warhead weighing up to 1,150 kg. In May 2026, that same missile had struck an industrial plant in Cheboksary, over 900 km from the Ukrainian border, in one of the deepest attacks of the entire war.
By mid-September, Reuters reported that half of Russia's major diesel-producing refineries had reduced their output following the drone attack campaign.
The episode in New York is part of a pattern of verbal provocations that Zelensky has been cultivating with increasing intensity. On Ukraine's Independence Day, the Ukrainian president shot back at the Kremlin: "You wanted to take all of our Ukraine from us; in return, you lost your refineries, your fleet, your income, and an entire generation".
On that same occasion, he warned: “Putin expects us to be tired. We know he is mortal. He never understood us. And now he won't have time to do so.”
Zelenski's agenda in New York was intense beyond the viral moment. On Wednesday, he addressed the General Assembly plenary to demand increased economic pressure on Russia and harsher sanctions, and met with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit to explore the possibility of ending the war before winter.
Notably, the attack on September 20 against Kapotnia occurred just a week after Trump publicly asked Zelenski to cease attacks on Russian refineries. The Ukrainian president ignored the request.
Regarding the Flamingo missile, Zelenski had requested to mass-produce it with a slogan that now takes on a new meaning: "They have to hibernate in Russia."
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