President Zelenskiy addresses UN general assembly in New York.

Zelenskiy told the United Nations that Ukraine wanted "Just punishment" for crimes Russia had committed against his nation.

In an a recorded address to the U.N. General Assembly, President Zelenskiy said Kyiv had a five-point plan to establish a durable peace - but rejected any suggestion that his ex-Soviet state should adopt neutrality.

And he ruled out any peace proposal other than the plan proposed by Ukraine.

Zelenskiy said his five non-negotiable conditions for peace included punishment for Russian aggression, restoration of Ukraine's security, and territorial integrity and security guarantees.

"...This is the first item of our peace formula. Comprehensive item. Punishment," Zelenskiy, wearing his trademark khaki tee shirt, told the assembly.

"Punishment for the crime of aggression. Punishment for violation of borders and territorial integrity. Punishment that must be in place until the internationally recognized border is restored."

But he added: "What is NOT in our formula? Neutrality. Those who speak of neutrality, when human values and peace are under attack, mean something else."

Many delegations gave Zelenskiy a standing ovation after his speech. The Russian delegation remained seated.

Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of war crimes in different parts of the country they have occupied. Russia denies the allegations and says it does not target civilians.

Zelenskiy called for the UN to strip Russia of its veto in the UN Security Council and referred to Russia as a 'terrorist state'.

Zelensky described war crimes he said were committed by Russian troops in Izium, including castrations. He said that Russia wants to prepare 'new Buchas, new Izyums' in Ukraine this winter.

'Putin doesn't want World War III – he wants Ukraine':

"Joe Biden today in his speech gave a very strong denunciation of Russia's behavour – not today, with a call for mobilisation and nuclear threats – but more broadly everything it has committed against Ukraine," noted Kristine Berzina, a senior fellow for defence and security at the German Marshall Fund's Washington DC bureau.

"Russia is a [permanent] member of the UN Security Council. For a Security Council member to invade a neighbour is really contrary to what the entire vision of the United Nations is. But there is also analysis that has been nearly two decades since a US president singled out another country so much in a UN General Assembly speech. The last time we saw something like this was before the Iraq War.".

The "Main focus" of Biden's speech was "Laying out clearly all of the atrocities that Putin has committed and his armies have committed in Ukraine".

At the same time, Berzina suggested Putin's partial mobilisation order on Wednesday is a sign of weakness.

If the West maintains its unity over Ukraine even while Europe suffers the consequences of Russia pulling the plug on its gas supplies, and "we get to the spring and the same kind of resolve exists in the West, Putin won't have that much more he can pull out – and he might have to understand that through his will and force alone he cannot change the world," she said.

Because despite his veiled nuclear threat, Putin "Doesn't want World War III either – he wants Ukraine".

Prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia:

Russia and Ukraine carried out an unexpected prisoner swap on Wednesday, the largest since the war began and involving almost 300 people, including 10 foreigners and the commanders who led a prolonged Ukrainian defence of Mariupol earlier this year.

The foreigners released included two Britons and a Moroccan who had been sentenced to death in June after being captured fighting for Ukraine. Also freed were three other Britons, two Americans, a Croatian, and a Swedish national.

The timing and magnitude of the swap came as a surprise, given Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced a partial troop mobilisation earlier in the day in an apparent escalation of the conflict that began in February. Pro-Russian separatists had also said last month that the Mariupol commanders would go on trial.