UN Gathers Most Votes in Support of Ukraine to Date

UN Gathers Most Votes in Support of Ukraine to Date

The UN General Assembly passed "Territorial integrity of Ukraine: defending the principles of the UN Charter," a resolution condemning Russia’s illegal annexation of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine.

One hundred and forty-three countries supported the resolution calling on states, international organizations, and the UN not to recognize Russia’s annexation and demanding the reversal of the annexation declaration. Thirty-five countries abstained from voting, and five countries, including Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Syria voted against it. The vote follows recent escalations in Russia’s missile attacks targeting civilian areas of multiple Ukrainian cities. 

In March, the UN gathered for its first emergency session since 1997, to vote to stop Russia’s offensive and withdraw troops from Ukraine. That vote resulted in 141 states voting in favor of the motion, 5 against, and 35 abstentions. Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and Eritrea were the only countries to vote in favor of Russia. 

In the most recent vote, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Morocco, voted to pass the resolution, a notable change from their votes of abstaining or not voting in the March UN resolution.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, spoke to NPR about the significance of the resolution: “It sends a message to Putin and to the Russians that they are isolated, that they will not get away with this, and that the world will condemn their actions.” The resolution gathered the most votes in support of Ukraine, signaling to Russia that the international community will not stand for continued violence and aggression.