Ukraine: UN General Assembly calls on Russia to reverse its “illegal annexation attempt”

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday approved by a large majority a resolution calling on countries not to recognize the four regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed, after so-called referendums held at the end of last month, and demands that Moscow reverse its illegal annexation.

The result was 143 Member States in favour, five against and 35 abstentions.

The resolution, which “defends the principles” of the UN Charter, notes that the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions are temporarily occupied by Russia as a result of aggression, violating the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Ukraine.

The General Assembly automatically took up the resolution for debate, prompted by Russia’s use of a veto in the Security Council over its attempted annexation.

immediate reversal

The resolution now approved in the Assembly, calls on all states, the UN and international organizations not to recognize any of Russia’s annexation claims and demands the immediate revocation of its declaration of annexation.

The resolution welcomes and “expresses its strong support” for the continued efforts of the Secretary General and member states to defuse the current situation in search of peace through dialogue, negotiation and mediation.

The debate on the Ukrainian resolution began on Monday, when General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi told the world’s most representative deliberative body that the UN Charter, the Secretary-General and the Assembly itself had been clear: Russian invasion and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory by force “are illegal”.

Bombing of civilian areas

Since Monday morning, Russia has fired dozens of missiles at civilian areas in multiple Ukrainian cities, killing and injuring dozens, in retaliation for the bombing of the Russian bridge to Crimea on Saturday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the assault “another unacceptable escalation” in Russia’s February 24 invasion of his neighbor.

Speaking at the start of Monday’s debate, Kőrösi said that “when it becomes a daily routine to see images of destroyed cities and scattered bodies, we lose our humanity (…) We must find a political solution based on the UN Charter and international law.”

The debate began with a procedural vote on a measure that Russia had requested proposing that the draft resolution under discussion be voted on in secret and not through a recorded open vote, which was rejected by the majority of the General Assembly .