UN Votes on Ukraine Highlight Divisions

Recent votes at the United Nations on resolutions concerning the conflict in Ukraine have exposed disagreements among member states, Al Jazeera reports.

In the UN General Assembly, a European-backed resolution condemning the war in Ukraine and calling for Russia’s troop withdrawal was adopted. However, the United States voted against the resolution, along with Russia, Israel, North Korea, Sudan, Belarus, and Hungary.

Subsequently, the UN Security Council (UNSC) passed a US-backed resolution calling for a swift end to the conflict. This resolution differed from the General Assembly resolution by not labeling Russia as the aggressor or affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Several UNSC members, including the United Kingdom, France, China, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia, abstained from the vote.

Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya welcomed the US resolution as a “constructive step” towards peace. US Charge d’Affaires Dorothy Shea described its adoption as a “crucial first step” towards ending the conflict.