Seventeen countries in the United Nations General Assembly joined the U.S. on Monday in voting against a nonbinding resolution condemning Russia as the aggressor in the ongoing war in Ukraine – more than double the vote against a similar resolution two years ago.
The European-backed Ukrainian resolution, which does not carry any enforcement, still passed overwhelmingly and is meant as a global vote of solidarity against Russia’s unprovoked attack on its neighbor and continued aggression. Monday marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But the U.S. vote signals a shift as President Trump – a month into his second term – has refused to blame Russia for the war, questioned the U.S.’s spending in the conflict and blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was largely lauded during the Biden administration.
On Monday, Trump signaled that he was open to meeting with Zelensky in the coming weeks to hash out issues.
During a similar U.N. vote on the war’s first anniversary in 2023, seven countries, including Russia, voted against a nonbinding resolution that urged Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and blamed the Kremlin for the continued conflict. The U.S., prior to Monday, voted in support of Ukraine on that and previous resolutions.
The 16 that voted against the resolution on Monday alongside the U.S. and Russia were Israel, Haiti, Hungary, the Marshall Islands; the African countries Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Palau, Sudan; and six countries that voted against the 2023 resolution: Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Eritrea, Mali and Nicaragua.
Sixty-five countries, including China, abstained from the vote. Still, China’s Xi Jinping affirmed his country’s support for Russia on Monday after a video call with President Vladimir Putin.
“History and reality show us that China and Russia are good neighbors who won’t move away, and true friends who have been through thick and thin together, support each other and develop together,” Xi was quoted as saying in Chinese state media.
