UNITED NATIONS (AP) — In a win for Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the U.N. General Assembly on Monday refused to approve a U.S.-backed resolution that urged an end to the war without mentioning Moscow’s aggression. Instead, it approved a European-backed Ukrainian resolution demanding Russia immediately withdraw its forces, which the Trump administration opposed.
It was a setback for the Trump administration in the 193-member world body, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion. But it also showed some diminished support for Ukraine, whose resolution passed 93-18, with 65 abstentions. That’s lower than previous votes, which saw more than 140 nations condemn Russia’s aggression and demand its immediate withdrawal.
The United States had tried to pressure the Ukrainians to withdraw their resolution in favor of its proposal, including a last-minute appeal by U.S. deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea. Ukraine refused, and the assembly approved three European-proposed amendments adding language to the U.S. proposal making clear that Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in violation of the U.N. Charter.
The vote on the amended U.S. resolution was 93-8 with 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting “yes,” the U.S. abstaining and Russia voting “no.”
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its “inherent right to self-defense” following Russia’s invasion, which violates the U.N. Charter’s requirement that countries respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.
“As we mark three years of this devastation — Russia’s full invasion against Ukraine — we call on all nations to stand firm and to take … the side of the Charter, the side of humanity and the side of just and lasting peace, peace through strength,” she said. President Donald Trump has often stated his commitment to bringing “peace through strength.”
U.S. envoy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous U.N. resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops “have failed to stop the war,” which “has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond.”
“What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all U.N. member states to bring a durable end to the war,” Shea said.
The dueling resolutions reflect the tensions that have emerged between the U.S. and Ukraine after Trump suddenly opened negotiations with Russia in a bid to quickly resolve the conflict. They also underscore the strain in the transatlantic alliance over the Trump administration’s extraordinary turnaround on engagement with Moscow. European leaders were dismayed that they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary talks last week, and the assembly met as Trump was hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington..
In escalating rhetoric, Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the conflict or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelenskyy responded by saying Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”
The Trump administration then not only declined to endorse Ukraine’s U.N. resolution, but at the last minute proposed its own competing resolution.
The U.S. also wants a vote on its proposal in the more powerful U.N. Security Council, where resolutions are legally binding and it has veto power along with Russia, China, Britain and France. China, which holds the council presidency this month, has scheduled it for Monday afternoon.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the council had not yet taken up the U.S. resolution, said the United States would veto any amendments by Russia or the Europeans.
The General Assembly has become the most important U.N. body on Ukraine because the 15-member Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has been paralyzed by Russia’s veto power.
Since Russia forces stormed across the border on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Assembly has approved half a dozen resolutions that have condemned the invasion and demanded the immediate pullout of Russian troops.
The very brief original U.S. resolution acknowledges “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and implores “a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.” It never mentions Moscow’s invasion.
France’s U.N. ambassador, Nicolas De Riviere, on behalf of more than 20 European countries, proposed the three amendments, which he said “reflect the real situation in Ukraine — that of a war of aggression led by Russia against its neighbor.”
The first replaces “Russia-Ukraine conflict” with “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” The second reaffirms the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. The third calls for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine that respects the U.N. Charter and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told reporters last week that the original U.S. resolution was “a good move.”
He proposed an amendment that would add the phrase “including by addressing its root causes” so the final line of the U.S. resolution would read, “implores a swift end to the conflict, including by addressing its root causes, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”
The General Assembly also approved that amendment Monday, but Russia didn’t support the amended resolution because it points a finger clearly at Moscow for starting the war.
The Ukraine resolution refers to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and recalls the need to implement all previous assembly resolutions “adopted in response to the aggression against Ukraine.”
It singles out the assembly’s demand that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
It stresses that any involvement of North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia’s forces “raises serious concerns regarding further escalation of this conflict.”
The resolution reaffirms the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and also “that no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal.”
It calls for “a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine” and it reiterates “the urgent need to end the war this year.”
