U.S. joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ambassador Dorothy Camille Shea, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the United States, speaks during a UN General Assembly meeting for a special session at the UN headquarters on February 24, in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

The United States joined Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine Monday in a stunning shift from years of U.S. policy.

The vote against the Ukrainian and European-backed resolution saw the U.S. at odds with its longtime European allies and instead aligned with the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. again voted the same way as Russia later Monday on a U.S.-proposed UN Security Council resolution that did not call the Kremlin the aggressor or acknowledge Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The resolution passed without the support of five European members of the Security Council.

The U.S.’ shocking alignment with Russia at the United Nations came as the Trump administration has pursued discussions with Moscow about ending the war. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. European partners have rushed to adjust to the shift in U.S. policy and French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump at the White House Monday.

The European-backed General Assembly resolution was adopted with 93 votes in favor. It notes “with concern the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has persisted for three years and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability” and “calls for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine.”

It also demands that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

The U.S. had introduced a rival General Assembly resolution, which did not call Russia the aggressor or acknowledge Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

It “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.” It mourns “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and reiterates “the principal purpose of the United Nations, as expressed in the United Nations Charter, is to maintain international peace and security and to peacefully settle disputes.”

The U.S. introduced the same resolution at the Security Council. It passed with 10 votes in favor, including from Russia, and five abstentions after European efforts to delay the meeting failed. Proposed amendments to strengthen the language, which were added to the U.S. General Assembly resolution, did not pass in the Security Council due to vetoes from Russia.

Prior to the vote, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya commended the brief, three-paragraph U.S. resolution “as a common sense initiative, as a step in the right direction.

U.S. charge d’affaires Dorothy Shea called the resolution’s passage the Security Council’s first action “to firmly call for an end to the conflict.”

“This resolution puts us on the path to peace. It is a first step, but a crucial one, one of which we should all be proud now we must use it to build a peaceful future for Ukraine, Russia and the international community,” she said after the vote.

However, Shea’s European counterparts had strong words in response to its passage.

“There will be no peace and security anywhere if aggressions are rewarded, and if the law of the jungle wins,” French Ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Rivière said.

“No one wants peace more than Ukraine, but the terms of that peace matter,” UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said. “Only a just peace, one that honors the terms of our charter, will endure.”

“And the terms of the peace must send a message that aggression does not pay. This is why there can be no equivalence between Russia and Ukraine in how this council refers to this war,” she said. “If we are to find a path to sustainable peace, the Council must be clear on the war’s origins. We also owe it to the people of Ukraine, who have suffered so much.”

“Russia chose to launch a war of aggression against a sovereign state, but again, today, is seeking to obfuscate that fact,” Woodward said.

“What, how and on what terms this war ends can only be decided by negotiations with Ukraine. No peace will be sustainable without Ukraine’s consent,” she said.

Earlier in the day at the General Assembly, Shea had urged member states to back the U.S. resolution and said the U.S. “cannot support Ukraine’s resolution, and we urge its withdrawal in favor of a strong statement committing us to end the war and work towards a lasting peace.”

The U.S. ended up abstaining on the vote for its own resolution at the General Assembly after several amendments were passed ahead of the vote to strengthen the language against Russia and reaffirm Ukraine’s territorial integrity.