141 countries denounce Russia at UNGA for Ukraine attack

Europe, News, US March 3, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

141 countries denounce Russia at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for launching an attack on Ukraine, demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

The majority of the world’s nations voted in favor of a UN resolution demanding Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally” remove its forces from Ukraine, in a historic UNGA voting.

Four countries including Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria joined Russia in voting against the resolution. China, India and South Africa were among the 35 countries that abstained from voting.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres while addressing the General Assembly said that the message is “loud and clear.” He urged Russia to “end hostilities in Ukraine” and said that “As bad as the situation is for the people in Ukraine right now, it threatens to get much, much worse. The ticking clock is a time bomb.”

The U.S. envoy for the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “If the United Nations has any purpose, it is to prevent war. She also said that Russia was “preparing to increase the brutality of its campaign” and was “moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine”, including cluster munitions and vacuum bombs.

Ukraine’s UN envoy Sergiy Kyslytsya termed the UN resolution as “one of the building blocks to build a wall to stop” the Russian attack on Ukraine and called the international community to support the country in stopping the Russian invasion. “They [Russia] have come to deprive Ukraine of the very right to exist. It’s already clear that the goal of Russia is not an occupation only. It is genocide,” Kyslytsya told the UN General Assembly.

^{Delegates react as results of the voting are displayed during the 11th emergency special session of the 193-member UN General Assembly on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Image Credit: Carlo Allegri/ Reuters)}

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the outcome of the vote, saying “I’m grateful to everyone & every state that voted in favor. You have chosen the right side of history.” The results “convincingly show that a global anti-Putin coalition has been formed and is functioning. The world is with us. The truth is on our side,” he added.

The White House released a statement on March 2, saying that “For the first time in 40 years, the United Nations Security Council convened an Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly under the Uniting for Peace mechanism in response to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unconscionable war on Ukraine. This extraordinary move by the United Nations demonstrates the extent of global outrage at Russia’s horrific assault on a sovereign neighbor and showcased unprecedented global unity.”

U.S. President Joe Biden also commended the UN member states for holding this “historic session” and said “Today’s vote lays bare Putin’s isolation. It also holds Belarus accountable for its unacceptable involvement in this war.”

“The world is rejecting Russia’s lies. We can all see what is happening in Ukraine with our own eyes. Russia is responsible for the devastating abuses of human rights and the international humanitarian crisis that we are watching unfold in Ukraine in real time. There is no room for excuses or equivocation. Russia is to blame,” Biden added.

While the UNGA resolutions are non-binding, it carries political significance and represented a symbolic victory for Ukraine and global isolation of Russia.