Last night, the United States aligned with Russia on two occasions at the United Nations, aiming to prevent any condemnation of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor from three years ago.
These two votes signified a monumental change in the power dynamics within the UN, where Washington had consistently supported resolutions that favored Ukraine while condemning Russia, until its sudden split with Kyiv.
As US President Donald Trump carves out a new stance regarding the Ukraine war, Washington and Russia found common ground during both a morning vote at the General Assembly and a later vote at the Security Council.
A text backed by European nations garnered 93 votes in favor at the General Assembly, 18 against, and 65 abstentions. Washington chose to side with Moscow and its allies Belarus, North Korea, and Sudan in opposition to the resolution.
Vassily Nebenzia remarked that the resolution represented a ‘starting point’ for peace initiatives.
The United States proposed an alternative resolution amid escalating tensions between Mr. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However, Ukraine’s European allies requested significant revisions to the US resolution to assert that the “full-scale invasion of Ukraine” was launched by Russia, resulting in Washington ultimately not supporting its own proposal.
Unfazed, the United States presented the unchanged text for a vote at the Security Council later in the day, where it passed with ten votes in favor and no opposition—alongside five abstentions.
The abstentions came from France, Britain, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia.
Importantly, France and Britain could have vetoed the resolution, which simply “urges a swift end to the conflict” without directly assigning blame to Russia.
Multiple amendments proposed by both Russia and European nations failed to pass.
“We recognize the constructive changes in the United States’ stance regarding the Ukrainian conflict,” stated Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia following the vote.
The relationship between Washington and Kyiv has sharply declined after Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, with the US president labeling Mr. Zelensky as highly unpopular and a “dictator”.
The UN General Assembly has consistently affirmed Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Mr. Trump’s increasing estrangement from Ukraine has incited alarm across a continent that has depended on US security guarantees for eight decades.
Richard Gowan from the International Crisis Group commented that the EU secured a “moral victory” in the General Assembly, but cautioned that European diplomats will be “concerned that Russia and the US will push more resolutions on Ukraine through the Security Council—potentially seeking endorsement for any agreement reached between Trump and Putin”.
Prior to the Security Council vote, there was speculation regarding whether France or Britain would be willing to exercise their first vetoes in over three decades.
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The leaders of both nations, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, are visiting the White House this week for crucial discussions on Ukraine.
The inviolability of Ukrainian territorial integrity has been a foundational principle of previous UN resolutions, with the United States, under former president Joe Biden, among its strongest proponents.
“Neither these amendments nor the resolution proposed by Ukraine will end the violence. The UN must halt the killing. We urge all Member States to unite in returning the UN to its core mission of international peace and security,” stated Washington’s UN envoy, Dorothy Shea, before the votes took place.
She later celebrated the passage of “a historic landmark agreement on Ukraine” by the Security Council.
“We invite all other UN member states to join the United States in pursuing a durable peace that will stabilize Europe and deter future aggression,” Ms. Shea added.
UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Sunday for a peace agreement that “fully upholds Ukraine’s territorial integrity” while adhering to the UN Charter.
