United Nations approves resolution calling for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for the Russian military to withdraw from all the territory of Ukraine, in a vote that marked one year since Moscow launched a full invasion of the country.

While 141 countries voted in favor of the resolution, mirroring a similar vote that occurred in the general assembly one year prior, Russia tallied two additional votes in opposition since a U.N. vote on the war in October.

The resolution holds no power to compel Russia to withdraw from Ukraine but is meant to send a political signal of global opposition to Moscow’s actions and demonstrate its isolation. 

“Colleagues, this vote will go down in history,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in remarks the day before.

“On the one-year anniversary of this conflict, we will see where the nations of the world stand on the matter of peace in Ukraine.”

The United Nations General Assembly is a key venue for Ukraine and its supporters to build consensus among the world’s nations that Russia is setting a dangerous precedent that can embolden other aggressive nations to violate another country’s borders. 

The symbolic votes also allow the U.N. to circumvent a stalemate on action from the body’s Security Council, where any binding enforcement measures can be blocked by Russia’s veto power as a permanent member of the body. 

General Assembly votes have been a key barometer of the success of each side of the war to sway international opinion. Moving countries with declared positions of neutrality amid Russia’s war has proven challenging for Ukraine and its major allies, such as the U.S. 

This includes an abstention on the vote from China, which has long provided a buffer for Russia at the United Nations. China views Russia’s war in Ukraine with concern but has maintained close ties with Moscow for its own interests, which include competing for superiority on the global stage against the U.S.

South Africa and India were also among the 32 countries that abstained from the vote, pointing to the continued struggle of U.S. diplomats to shift those countries into Ukraine’s column.

India’s Ambassador to the U.N. Ruchira Kamboj said the resolution had “inherent limitations” that compelled their vote of abstention and said key questions need to be answered.

“Can any process that does not involve either of the two sides ever lead to a credible and meaningful solution? Has the U.N. system and particularly its principal organ the U.N. Security Council based on a 1945 world construct, not be rendered ineffective to address contemporary challenges to global peace and security?” she asked.

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Central Asian nations in Russia’s sphere of influence, also abstained.

Seven countries voted against the resolution, titled “Principles of the Charter of the United Nations, underlining, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” including Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria, and Eritrea.

Mali and Nicaragua also voted against the resolution, marking a change for the two countries that had abstained in the vote a year prior.