UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION AGAINST RUSSIAN INVASION

Wed 02 March 2022:

On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to reprimand Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, demanding that Moscow cease fighting and evacuate its military forces, a move aimed at diplomatically isolating Russia at the UN.

The resolution, which received support from 141 of the assembly’s 193 members, came as Ukrainian forces fought on in the port of Kherson in the face of air strikes and a devastating bombardment that drove hundreds of thousands of people to escape.

The resolution’s wording “deplores” Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine.” According to the United Nations website, the last time the Security Council called an emergency session of the General Assembly was in 1982.

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.

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 an extraordinary moment,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “Now, at 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.”

After nearly a week, Russia has yet to fulfill its goal of deposing Ukraine’s government, but it has faced unprecedented Western retaliation, with sanctions crippling Russia’s banking system and major international companies pulling their investments out of the country.

Since Russia’s armies invaded Ukraine in the worst assault on a European state since World War Two, Washington has slapped numerous rounds of sanctions, including on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the central bank. The assault is described by Moscow as a “special operation.”

Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s UN Ambassador, denied that Moscow was targeting civilians and warned that the resolution’s approval could lead to greater violence.

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