United Nations
Reuters
The United Nations overwhelmingly isolated Russia on Thursday, marking one year since Moscow invaded Ukraine by calling for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” and again demanding Moscow withdraw its troops and stop fighting.
Just a day after China’s top diplomat visited Moscow and pledged a deeper partnership with Russia, Beijing abstained on the vote – the fourth time it has done so on such action since the Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February last year.
An electronic sign displays the results of a vote by delegations adopting a resolution on Ukraine during a high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, on 23rd February, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Mike Segar
With a round of applause, the resolution was adopted on Thursday with 141 votes in favour and 32 abstentions. Six countries joined Russia to vote no – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria.
“This resolution is a powerful signal of unflagging global support for Ukraine,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted on Twitter after the vote.
LANDMARKS LIT, VIGILS HELD TO MARK FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF UKRAINE WAR
Paris lit up the Eiffel Tower in blue and yellow and people draped in Ukrainian flags gathered at a vigil in London on Thursday, as the world marks one year of war between Ukraine and Russia.
Russia invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on 24th February, 2022, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II. Russia has called its actions “a special military operation,” while Ukraine and the West call the attack an unprovoked land grab.
The Eiffel Tower is lit up in the national blue-and-yellow colours of Ukraine, to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Paris, France, on 23rd February, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier
“There will be a life after this war, because Ukraine will win,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in a speech before the Eiffel Tower was lit up to show solidarity with Ukraine.
“I think no one will run out of this fierce desire for freedom, for Europe, for democracy that the Ukrainians are showing.”
In Brussels, European Union buildings including those of the European Parliament and Commission were similarly lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
People attend a vigil for Ukraine held on the anniversary of the conflict with Russia, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, on 23rd February, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Henry Nicholls
In London, people draped in Ukrainian flags and holding banners – including one that said “Put Putin in the bin” in a reference to Russian President Valdimir Putin – gathered at Trafalgar Square at a vigil to mark the anniversary.
“Tomorrow is the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Russia into my country, this is why I thought I just can’t stay home,” said Olena Iliuk, an 18-year-old Ukrainian at the vigil.
Ukraine had success with counter-offensives in late 2022 to seize much of the territory it lost early on, and the war has settled into one of attritional trench warfare and rising losses on both sides. Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine a year on.
– DEEPA BABINGTON/Reuters
Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy dismised the action at the United Nations as “useless,” posting on Twitter: “Will it bring peace? No! Will it embolden warmongers? Yes! Thus prolonging Ukrainian tragedy.”
Russia had described the resolution as “unbalanced and anti-Russian” and urged countries to vote no if it could not be amended. Moscow ally Belarus failed in a bid to change the text with amendments including “prevention of further escalation of the conflict through feeding the parties with lethal weapons.”
Western powers have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons since Russia invaded. The United States and NATO have in the past week accused China of considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against such a move.
“One year into the Ukraine crisis brutal facts offer an ample proof that sending weapons will not bring peace,” China’s deputy UN Ambassador Dai Bing said ahead of the vote. “Adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions.”
China’s abstentions appear to reflect a bid to stay on the diplomatic fence over the war in Ukraine. Beijing says the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, but – in a nod to Russia’s unease about NATO – believes all security concerns should be addressed.
“Veneer of neutrality”
China did vote against two resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly last year that took specific action – suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council and recognizing Russia must be responsible for making reparations to Ukraine.
China attempts “to maintain this veneer of neutrality, professing to the world that they’re not taking a side – but they’ve clearly chosen a side,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday.
He said China “has been providing important support to Russia over the course of the last year,” citing non-lethal assistance provided by Chinese companies tied to the state.
Moscow has been trying to chip away at its international isolation. As Russia and the West have vied for diplomatic influence, some states – particularly in the global South – have grown concerned about paying the price for being squeezed in the middle of an intense geopolitical rivalry.
“While we support the present resolution’s focus on the principles of the charter and international law, it certainly brings us no closer to laying the foundations for a durable peace and bringing and end to devastation and destruction,” said South Africa’s UN Ambassador Mathu Joyini, who abstained.
Brazil voted for the resolution, but its Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho said the “time has come to open space for dialogue and to begin reconstruction.”
The General Assembly has been the focus for UN action on Ukraine, with the 15-member Security Council paralysed due to veto power by Russia and the United States along with China, France and Britain.
The Security Council has held dozens of meetings on Ukraine in the past year and will again discuss the war on Friday at a ministerial gathering, due to be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Diplomats say Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is not scheduled to attend.
