The UN General Assembly has returned in person after the pandemic disruption, but in a world fraught with crisis as ever, as the war in Ukraine will turn the West against Russia.

Some 150 world leaders will descend on New York for a week of diplomacy, with all required to come in person to speak except for one – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is granting an exception as he is leading the fight against Russian invaders.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said ahead of the summit, which officially begins on Tuesday, that the world’s divisions “are at their greatest since the Cold War, at least.”

“Our world is wracked by war, wracked by climate chaos, scarred by hatred, and shamed by poverty, hunger and inequality,” Guterres said.

“As fractures deepen and trust erodes, we must come together to find solutions.”

For the previous two years, the annual gathering that disrupts traffic in midtown Manhattan was a more subdued affair, with leaders allowed to submit videos.

The general assembly voted on Friday to allow Zelenskyy to speak via video. Seven nations voted against, including Russia, saying the right should be extended to all leaders, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping not planning to travel to New York.

However, several US opponents are expected, including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, defying vocal protests from their opponents in the United States.

Richard Gowan, who follows the United Nations for the International Crisis Group, said that Zelensky’s speech “will receive 1,000 times more attention than most personal speeches by other leaders”.

“But Zelenskyj has to be careful. Many non-Western politicians resent the West’s focus on Ukraine and fear the war will distract international attention from issues such as the global food crisis,” he said.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield acknowledged the concerns, saying that despite discussions about Ukraine, “it won’t be the only thing we’re dealing with.”

“We cannot ignore the rest of the world and what is happening in the rest of the world, the effects of climate change, the effects of the pandemic, conflicts elsewhere in the world,” she said.

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken is set to chair a food security summit alongside the African Union, European Union and Spain on Tuesday as high global prices – exacerbated by the invasion of major grain producer Ukraine – bring renewed hunger around the world.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said he would “seek dialogue with our southern partners to avoid spreading this idea that the West is against the rest.”

Despite the transition to normalcy, the General Assembly schedule has been thrown off balance by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. US President Joe Biden, who traditionally would have been one of the first speakers on Tuesday and would have chaired the food summit, will speak on Wednesday instead.

And amid ongoing Covid concerns, the UN is still limiting the size of delegations and requiring mask-wearing at the towering East River headquarters.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, who took office two days before the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, will fly to the United Nations after the funeral for her first trip abroad since taking office.

The UN summit will also be a fresh opportunity to advance global action on climate change amid mounting signs the planet is slipping to dangerous levels of warming.

“We have no more time to waste,” said Ambassador Walton Webson of Antigua and Barbuda, chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States.

“Our islands are being hit by more severe and frequent climate impacts, and recovery is at the expense of our development,” he said.

Guterres said he would use the week to speak candidly with world leaders amid cautious hopes for more progress on climate during the next climate summit, COP27, in Egypt in November.