The United States abstained from voting for its own United Nations General Assembly resolution marking the anniversary of the war in Ukraine after several amendments were added to the resolution. The original draft resolution did not call Russia the aggressor in the war or acknowledge Ukraine’s territorial integrity. However, a number of amendments were passed ahead of the vote to strengthen the language against Russia and reaffirm Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The amended US-drafted resolution was then adopted by the UN General Assembly. The US is now poised to pit itself against its European allies again later Monday at the UN Security Council, where it is expected to introduce the same resolution that does not blame Russia for the war.
One amendment added a paragraph reading “Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters.” Another amendment changed the language from mourning “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.”
The General Assembly and Security Council votes come on the anniversary of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It comes days after a high-level US delegation met with the Russians — without Ukraine — to discuss a process to end the war. The US special envoy for Ukraine traveled separately to Kyiv following that meeting. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his antagonism toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the US pushes for a mineral deal with Ukraine.
