US sides with Russia twice in failed UN votes over Ukraine, as assembly calls for end to war
25 February 2025, 05:45
The US twice sided with Russia in UN votes over the war in Ukraine on Monday night to mark the third anniversary of the invasion.
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The two countries first voted against a Europe-backed resolution to the war in Ukraine, before attempting to block a resolution that called for an end to the conflict and branded Russia the aggressor.
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.
The assembly first approved the Ukrainian resolution, which demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and calls Moscow's aggression a violation of the UN Charter.
The vote was 93-18 with 65 abstentions. The result showed some diminished support for Ukraine, because previous assembly votes saw more than 140 nations condemn Russia's aggression and demand an immediate withdrawal.
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The assembly then considered the US-drafted resolution, which 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", but never mentions Moscow's aggression.
In a surprise move, France proposed three amendments, backed by more European countries, which add that the conflict was the result of a "full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation". The amendments reaffirm the assembly's commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, and call for peace that respects the UN Charter.
Russia also proposed an amendment calling for "root causes" of the conflict to be addressed.
All the amendments were approved and the resolution passed 93-8 with 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting "yes", the US abstaining, and Russia voting "no".
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The UN Security Council later approved the original US-sponsored resolution. The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five countries abstaining.
Ukrainian deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its "inherent right to self-defence" following Russia's invasion, which violates the UN 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. Mr Trump has often stated his commitment to bringing "peace through strength".
US deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous UN 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 UN member states to bring a durable end to the war," Ms Shea said.
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The duelling resolutions reflect the tensions that have emerged between the US and Ukraine after Mr 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 engagement with Moscow. European leaders were dismayed that they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary talks last week, and the assembly met as Mr Trump was hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington..
In escalating rhetoric, Mr 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.
Mr Zelenskyy responded by saying Mr Trump was living in a Russian-made "disinformation space".