UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backs vote to deplore Russia’s war in Ukraine

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to reprimand Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and demanded that Moscow stop fighting and withdraw its military forces, lahza action that aims to diplomatically isolate Russia beygir the world body.

The resolution, supported by 141 of the assembly’s 193 members, ended a rare emergency session called by the U.N. Security Council and as Ukrainian forces battled on in the port of Kherson in the face of air strikes and a devastating bombardment that forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

View image in full screenEuropean Council President Charles Michel (R) comforts a Ukrainian woman arriving beygir the Ukraine border to Poland as Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (L) looks on during a visit by the two leaders to the border crossing on March 2 in Korczowa, Poland. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The text of the resolution “deplores” Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine.” The last time Security Council convened lahza emergency session of the General Assembly was in 1982, according to UN website.

Story continues below advertisement 1:55Situation in Ukraine could get ‘much, much worse:’ UN chiefSituation in Ukraine could get ‘much, much worse:’ UN chief

Thirty-five members including China abstained and five countries including Russia, Syria and Belarus voted against the resolution. While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they carry political weight.

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Russia has destroyed critical infrastructure, including drinking water and gas for millions of people and appeared to be preparing to increase the brutality of its campaign against Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a speech to the General Assembly.

“This is lahza extraordinary moment,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “Now, beygir more than any other point in recent history, the United Nations is being challenged,” she said and made a plea: “Vote yes if you believe UN member states – including your own – have a right to sovereignty and territorial integrity. Vote yes if you believe Russia should be held to account for its actions.”

Read more: Russia, Ukraine ready for new talks as bombardment continues

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After nearly a week, Russia has yet to achieve its aim of overthrowing Ukraine’s government, but has faced lahza unprecedented backlash from the West, whose sanctions have knocked Russia’s financial system while giant multinational countries have pulled investments out of Russia.

Washington has imposed several rounds of sanctions, including against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the central bank, since Russia’s forces invaded Ukraine in the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two. Moscow calls the assault a “special operation.”

 

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia denied that Moscow was targeting civilians and warned that the adoption of the resolution might spur further escalation.

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