War in Ukraine: UN General Assembly denounces annexation by Russia

• 143 nations voted in favour of the resolution, while 35 governments, including China and India, abstained.
• It was the most votes against Russia since the invasion, though only symbolic.
• US President Joe Biden said the vote sent a “clear message” to Moscow.

With a resounding majority, the UN General Assembly has denounced Russia’s plans to invade four areas of Ukraine.

143 nations voted in favour of the resolution, while 35 governments, including China and India, abstained.

Along with Russia, the vote was opposed by Belarus, North Korea, Syria, and Nicaragua.

It was the most votes against Russia since the invasion, though only symbolic.

President Vladimir Putin signed legal documents last week to annexe the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson to Russia in a formal ceremony held in the Kremlin.

After what the West referred to as “mock” self-proclaimed referendums in the regions, the agreements were signed with the leaders of the four regions who had been appointed by Moscow.

Soldiers canvass homes for votes during “referendums”

The resolution demands Russia’s “prompt reversal” and urges the international community to reject all of its annexation claims. It applauds and “expresses its strong support” for negotiations aimed at de-escalating the conflict.

All of the nations who voted in favour of Russia have a history of decrying Western governments.

Because of the use of its territory in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Belarus is regarded as a satellite state of its neighbour and ally.

Parties that abstained from the vote included 19 African countries in addition to China and India, which have endeavoured to maintain a neutral stance on the crisis.

Numerous African nations have refrained from taking a side in the conflict, which has been seen as evidence of efforts to preserve long-standing economic relations or of historical non-alignment policies.

Congo-Brazzaville, Ethiopia, and Uganda were three of the four nations that Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, visited in July. They opted to abstain.

Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Senegal, the four countries that Ukraine’s own foreign minister visited recently, voted at the UN to denounce Russia.

Although he curtailed his travel when major Ukrainian cities came under missile fire on Monday, Dmytro Kuleba apparently made his tour in an effort to oppose Russian influence in Africa.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, expressed his gratitude to the nations that did back the resolution.

“The world had its say – [Russia’s] attempts at annexation is [sic] worthless and will never be recognized by free nations,” he tweeted, adding that Ukraine would “return all its lands”.

US President Joe Biden said the vote sent a “clear message” to Moscow.

“The stakes of this conflict are clear to all, and the world has sent a clear message in response – Russia cannot erase a sovereign state from the map,” he said.

Russia has failed on the battlefield and at the UN, according to Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s ambassador to the UN. She added that nations had banded together to preserve the UN’s charter.

“Russia has isolated itself, but Russia alone can stop the suffering. The time to end the war is now,” she said.

Russia’s use of its veto to block action at the Security Council, the body responsible for upholding international peace and security, prompted the General Assembly vote. China, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom have veto power on the council as permanent members.

After the invasion of Ukraine, there have been requests for Russia’s veto power to be removed.

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