US Supports Russia in UN Resolutions on Ukraine

The US has twice aligned with Russia in UN votes marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, underscoring a shift in the Trump administration's stance on the conflict.

At the beginning, the US was against the European-backed resolution to condemn Moscow's actions and uphold Ukraine's territorial integrity, arguments which passed in the end at the General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The US proposed and supported a resolution in the UN Security Council for ending the conflict without condemning Russia. While the resolution was passed, other allies of the US, England, and France, abstained after vetoes blocked amendments they wanted to attach.

The competing resolutions were tabled while French President Emmanuel Macron was meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. The two leaders had very starkly differing views regarding the war-prime interest. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will pay a visit to the new US leader on Thursday.

Trump's White House has basically reshaped the transatlantic relationship, making it closer to the Kremlin and casting doubt on US credibility as a supporter of European security.

This rift was glaringly exposed during Monday's session at the 193-member UN General Assembly, wherein the US diplomats had pushed a resolution mourning the loss of life in the "Russia-Ukraine conflict" and calling for the conflict to end soon.

On the other hand, European allies presented a broad resolution to condemn Russia's full-scale invasion and reaffirm support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We must reaffirm that aggression should be condemned and discredited, not rewarded," said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa.

The European resolution was backed by 93 votes in the UNGA, but, remarkably, the US voted against it, alongside Russia, Israel, North Korea, Sudan, Belarus, Hungary, and 11 other countries, with 65 abstentions.

The UNGA also passed the US-drafted resolution, but only after it was amended to include language supporting Ukraine, prompting the US to abstain.

At the more influential 15-member UN Security Council, the unamended US resolution calling for an end to the conflict without criticizing Russia—was passed with 10 votes, while the UK, France, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia abstained.

America’s acting envoy to the UN, Dorothy Camille Shea, described the US resolution as a "simple historic statement... focused on looking forward, not backward. A resolution centered on one straightforward goal: ending the war."

Never before has the US been so out of alignment with its traditional European allies.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine three years ago, the Security Council has been paralyzed by Russia's veto power, as one of its five permanent members, blocking any resolutions. As a result, the UNGA has become the primary forum for discussions on the war, though its resolutions are not legally binding like those from the Security Council.