6 Countries Vote Against UN Resolution Calling for Russia to Withdraw From Ukraine

A general view shows voting results during a U.N. General Assembly meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Oct. 12, 2022. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

Six nations joined Russia in voting against a resolution calling on Russian troops to immediately withdraw from Ukraine during a United Nations General Assembly on Feb. 23.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, along with North Korea, Syria, Eritrea, Mali, and Nicaragua, all joined Russia in opposing the declaration on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The resolution called for Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine” and called for a “cessation of hostilities.”

Belarus had proposed amendments to the resolution that would have altered several of its provisions, including calling on U.N. member states to “refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict.”

Those amendments were resoundingly rejected.

The number of nations voting against Thursday’s resolution marks a slight increase from the last time the U.N. voted on a similar measure in March 2022. During that vote, five nations—Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Russia, and Syria—voted against the resolution.

China, India Abstain From Voting

Algeria, Armenia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, Sudan, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe were among the 32 nations that abstained from voting on Thursday, according to the U.N., as were China, India, and Pakistan, which all have close relations with the Kremlin.

Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping is set to visit Moscow in the coming months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed.

Earlier this week, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, visited the Kremlin and pledged a deeper “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Russia.

Elsewhere, a total of 141 countries out of the 193-member body voted in support of the resolution, including the United States, which helped draft the resolution, as well as the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Poland.

Those nations have granted some of the highest amounts of aid and military support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Specifically, Thursday’s resolution (pdf) “reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters.”

It also calls for an “immediate cessation of the attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and any deliberate attacks on civilian objects, including those that are residences, schools, and hospitals” and “emphasizes the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine through appropriate, fair, and independent investigations and prosecutions at the national or international level, and ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes,” among other key points.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Twitter shortly after the vote that he was “grateful” to all the countries that opted to endorse the resolution, calling it a “powerful signal of unflagging global support” for Ukraine.

Russia Calls Vote ‘Useless’

“A powerful testament to the solidarity of [the global] community with [Ukranian] people in the context of the anniversary of RF’s full-scale aggression,” Zelenskyy wrote in the Twitter post. “A powerful manifestation of global support for [Ukraine] Peace Formula!”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter that “by voting in favor of today’s UNGA resolution, 141 U.N. member states made it clear that Russia must end its illegal aggression.

“Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be restored. One year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, global support for Ukraine remains strong,” Kuleba said.

Elsewhere, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, called the vote “a powerful call for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the U.N. Charter.”

However, Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy dismissed the action at the United Nations as “useless,” adding, “Will it bring peace? No! Will it embolden warmongers? Yes! Thus prolonging Ukrainian tragedy.”

Thursday’s resolution is largely symbolic and not legally binding.

It comes as Ukraine braces for more intensified fighting as Russia attempts to capture all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.