Ukrainian authorities Thursday said a vote held by the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday is proof that the international community is united against Russia amid the war between the east European neighbors.
Officials say 143 nations voted against Moscow and five nations, Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Nicaragua in addition to Russia, showed support for President Vladimir Putin.
In a tweet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked all nations that stood by Kyiv.
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador, said the outcome of the vote showed immense support to defend the principles of the U.N.’s Charter.
“I think that the countries made the right choice to defend the principles of the U.N. Charter and to follow the Charter,” Kyslytsya said.
U.S. President Joe Biden echoed Kyslytsya’s sentiments.
“The world has just demonstrated that it is more united and more determined than ever to hold Russia accountable for its actions,” Biden said.
Experts say Wednesday’s vote showed that the international community is united against Russia’s “special military operation,” but warned support for Ukraine might be declining.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., noted that the vote is not legally binding, but said it shows that the international community is in favor of Ukraine maintaining its territorial integrity.
“This means that in the eyes of the world and the United Nations, Ukraine’s borders will remain the same,” she said.
“Kherson is Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia is Ukraine, Donetsk is Ukraine, Luhansk is Ukraine, and Ukraine remains Ukraine,” added Thomas-Greenfield.
Vassily Nebenzya, Russia’s permanent representative to the U.N., described Wednesday’s proceedings as “politicized by Western nations.”
“By introducing this draft, Western states are pursuing their own geopolitical goals and are once again trying to use the members of the General Assembly as bit players,” Nebenzya said.
