International news: US refuses to support Ukraine at UN

By Lucia Caporalini

The United States stressed their standpoint on the Ukraine war on Monday as they once again sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations, deepening their split from European countries.

On the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022, the United States refused to openly condemn Russia by voting against a European-endorsed declaration that supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and respect for its frontiers.

The draft received 93 votes for and 18 against, with 65 abstentions. The US joined Russian allies North Korea, Sudan and Belarus in rejecting the text.

The stance does not come as a surprise in the steady evolution of the US’s position on the Ukraine conflict since the re-election of President Donald Trump.

Zelensky the ‘dictator’

Trump upscaled the tension in US-Ukraine relationships last week by dubbing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’.

“He refuses to have elections. He’s low in the real Ukrainian polls. How can you be high with every city being demolished?” Trump argued.

The smear was harshly criticized by European leaders, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz commenting: “It is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy”.

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Conflict resolution

At the UN Security Council on Monday, the US then submitted a draft that proposed a solution to the conflict. The text passed with 10 votes, although it did not highlight any judgment on Russia’s invasion.

France, Britain, Slovenia, Denmark and Greece abstained as their endeavor to change the phrasing of the draft was vetoed.

“Neither these amendments nor the resolution offered by Ukraine will stop the killing. The UN must stop the killing. We urge all Member States to join us in returning the UN to its core mission of international peace and security,” pledged the US envoy to the UN, Dorothy Shea.

“We call on all other UN member states to join the United States in pushing for a durable peace that will bring stability to Europe and deter further aggression,” she added.

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