The UN General Assembly at its meeting on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning the illegal “referendums” held by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine, European Pravda reported.
The resolution was supported by 143 out of 193 members of the UN General Assembly, five states (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Nicaragua) voted against, the remaining 35 abstained from voting.
Thus, the overwhelming majority of the Organization’s members – even more than during the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March – condemned Russia’s illegal actions to annex Ukrainian territories.
In addition to condemning Russia’s “referendums” in the occupied territories, the document prepared by Albania calls on states, international organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations not to recognize any changes in the status of the regions of Ukraine, as well as demands Russia cancel the annexation and withdraw all its troops from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
It also calls for “support for the de-escalation of the current situation and a peaceful resolution of the conflict through political dialogue, negotiations, mediation and other peaceful means,” but subject to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Russia strongly opposed the adoption of the resolution, and on September 30, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, vetoed it. Later, Moscow unsuccessfully tried to get the resolution voted on in a closed session, claiming that the open vote was politicized.
The vote in the General Assembly was another defeat for Russia, which argues that its annexation of four Ukrainian regions is in line with international law and the UN Charter.
