U.N. countries overwhelmingly vote to tell Russia to leave Ukraine

On Thursday, a day before the official one-year mark of Russia’s war on Ukraine, an overwhelming majority of United Nations members voted in support of a resolution calling on Moscow to end its invasion. 

Here was some early reaction from the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield:

On Wednesday, in remarks delivered at the U.N., the ambassador said President Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine this week had “made it clear” the U.S. is still invested in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s ongoing brutal assault. 

“He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with President Zelenskyy,” she said, “to remind the world that, one year later, Kyiv still stands. Ukraine still stands. And America still stands with Ukraine.”

Thursday’s vote demonstrates broad international support for Ukraine at a time when Russia has launched a new offensive in the eastern part of the country. The official vote count was 141 votes in favor and seven against, with 32 countries abstaining. 

Belarus, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia and Syria voted against the resolution. China, Cuba, Iran, India and several African countries were among the abstentions. (As for the African countries, I’ve written about causes for their neutral stances previously for The ReidOut Blog.) 

In addition to international diplomacy, the U.N. vote is sure to have an impact on America’s domestic politics. The House of Representatives is currently under the control of Republicans with Russophilic tendencies, and many of the Republicans on Capitol Hill, senators and representatives alike, have shown adoration for Vladimir Putin and conspiratorial disdain for Ukraine. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has encouraged international officials not to pay these lawmakers any mind. 

That may prove difficult in the long run, depending on how destructive conservatives are willing to get in their effort to halt assistance for Ukraine.

There’s no denying, though, that Thursday’s vote demonstrated where the United States stands, as an institution: firmly in support of Ukraine. As far as individual lawmakers are concerned, that’s clearly a different story.