UN General Assembly passes resolution condemning Russia’s claim to annex parts of Ukraine
The resolution was supported by 143 countries, five opposed, and 35 abstained. Another 10 countries, including Iran, which supplies weapons to Russia, did not vote.
Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria voted against supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Immediately after the vote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to Twitter to thank all of the countries that supported the resolution.
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The resolution on “defending the principles” of the UN Charter, notes that the oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya are temporarily occupied by Russia as a result of aggression, violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence.
Using sham referendums in these regions, Russia has attempted to alter the borders of Ukraine, the General Assembly noted.
The UN also affirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, condemned Russia's organization of sham referendums, and announced that Moscow's illegal actions in these four Ukrainian regions have no legal standing and do not change their status.
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The debate began with a procedural vote on a measure proposed by Russia – that the Ukrainian draft resolution being debated be voted on by secret ballot, not through an open recorded vote. Moscow hoped that this would encourage countries to vote against the resolution.
The General Assembly also called on all countries, organizations and UN agencies not to recognize the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, demanding that Moscow reverse course on its “attempted illegal annexation,” which violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as to completely withdraw Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine.
The resolution welcomes and “expresses its strong support” for the continued efforts by the Secretary General and Member States, to de-escalate the current situation in search of peace through dialogue, negotiation and mediation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine noted that the document mentions another resolution of the General Assembly of March 28, 2014. It was emphasized that the organization confirmed that Russia's aggression against Ukraine began in 2014, and that Crimea and Sevastopol are an integral part of Ukraine's sovereign territory.
The Russian occupiers announced the “results” of the sham referendums on Sept. 27, which it claimed garnered from 87% to 99% “support” from the populations of the occupied regions.
However, there were widespread reports of voting irregularities, including people being forced to vote at gunpoint.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on Sept. 30 signed “agreements” with the leaders of puppet administrations in the Russian-occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, and with collaborators in Kherson and Zaporizhzhya oblasts on the annexation of these occupied territories of Ukraine.
Read also: Russia guilty of war crimes in Ukraine, UN report says
President Zelenskyy on Oct. 4 put into effect a National Security and Defense Council decision on the impossibility of negotiations with Putin, as well as imposing sanctions against Russia. He also declared Putin's so-called decrees on the annexation of Ukrainian territories null and void.
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
