Six nations joined Russia in voting against a resolution calling on Russian troops to immediately withdraw from Ukraine during a United Nations General Assembly on Feb. 23.
The resolution called for Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine” and called for a “cessation of hostilities.”
Belarus had proposed amendments to the resolution that would have altered several of its provisions, including calling on U.N. member states to “refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict.”
Those amendments were resoundingly rejected.
China, India Abstain From Voting
Algeria, Armenia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, Sudan, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe were among the 32 nations that abstained from voting on Thursday, according to the U.N., as were China, India, and Pakistan, which all have close relations with the Kremlin.Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping is set to visit Moscow in the coming months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed.
Elsewhere, a total of 141 countries out of the 193-member body voted in support of the resolution, including the United States, which helped draft the resolution, as well as the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Poland.
It also calls for an “immediate cessation of the attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and any deliberate attacks on civilian objects, including those that are residences, schools, and hospitals” and “emphasizes the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine through appropriate, fair, and independent investigations and prosecutions at the national or international level, and ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes,” among other key points.
Russia Calls Vote ‘Useless’
“A powerful testament to the solidarity of [the global] community with [Ukranian] people in the context of the anniversary of RF’s full-scale aggression,” Zelenskyy wrote in the Twitter post. “A powerful manifestation of global support for [Ukraine] Peace Formula!”“Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be restored. One year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, global support for Ukraine remains strong,” Kuleba said.
Thursday’s resolution is largely symbolic and not legally binding.
It comes as Ukraine braces for more intensified fighting as Russia attempts to capture all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.