The United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Thursday approved a resolution submitted by Ukraine condemning the Russian invasion. A very symbolic vote, a few hours after one year of the war actions authorized by Russian President Vladimir Putin against that former Soviet republic.
In total, 141 countries expressed their support for the resolution. Seven opposed: Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Mali, Eritrea and Nicaragua.
And 32 abstained: China, India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Vietnam, and much of Africa and Central Asia, among others.
Opening the debate, Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzia called Ukraine a “neo-Nazi” and accused the West of sacrificing the country and the developing world in its desire to defeat Russia.
“They are ready to plunge the entire world into the abyss of war,” Nebenzia said, adding that the United States and its allies wanted to shore up their own “hegemony.”
But the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, rejected it. “I want to underline: this war is not a European issue. Nor is it about the West against Russia. No, this illegal war concerns everyone: the north, the south, the east and the west, ”he said.
The resolution stresses “the need to achieve, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter.”
And it reaffirms the UN’s “commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
