JAKARTA - The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution demanding Russia immediately withdraw all of its troops from Ukraine, calling for a cessation of hostilities, one year after Moscow's invasion.
Member states met at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to condemn the February 24, 2022 invasion, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres previously called "an affront to our common conscience".
He described the anniversary as a "dark milestone for the Ukrainian people and for the international community".
This non-binding resolution was approved by 141 countries, one of which is Indonesia. Meanwhile, 32 countries abstained, including China. Meanwhile, seven countries voted against it, including Russia, Syria and North Korea.
The vote came one day after Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, warned that China may be making plans to provide Russia with weapons.
Dai Bing, China's deputy ambassador to the UN told the General Assembly, "sending weapons will not bring peace" and called for talks.
He warned against "man-made nuclear accidents", adding that "nuclear weapons cannot be used - nuclear war cannot be fought".
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who described the vote as "historic", demanded Russia "withdraw immediately, completely and unconditionally from internationally recognized territory of Ukraine".
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that demands #Russia leave #Ukraine.
In favour: 141
Against: 7
Abstentions: 32 pic.twitter.com/WnEoRp94kx
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) February 23, 2023
Though non-binding, the vote demonstrates the level of support for Kyiv worldwide as the war continues, with Russia occupying large swaths of Ukraine and both sides bracing for more intense fighting in the spring.
UN diplomats had been expecting as many as 150 votes in favor of the resolution. However, the final result of the vote count matched exactly the same resolution on March 2 last year that condemned the Russian invasion and demanded Russia withdraw its troops.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters Russia had been "trying for a whole week to distract and disrupt the work of the United Nations by various maneuvers".
"Again, it failed," he said.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged delegates to support the resolution, which was sponsored by dozens of Ukraine's allies, saying they were facing a "decisive moment".
"Never in recent history has the line between good and evil been so clear. One nation just wants to live. The other wants to kill and destroy," explained Kuleba.
However, Russia's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya described Ukraine as a neo-Nazi, accusing the West of sacrificing it and the developing world in their desire to defeat Moscow.
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"They are ready to plunge the whole world into the abyss of war" in order to maintain their own "hegemony", said Nebenzya.
This resolution underscores the need to "achieve, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in accordance with the UN Charter.
However, there was no direct reference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace plan presented at the G20 summit in November.
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