A joint statement by Ukraine and the EU condemning Russia received support from only 36 of the 193 UN member states, with the US abstaining. The document, presented by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga at the UN Headquarters in New York, labeled Russia’s actions against Ukraine as a “blatant violation of the UN Charter” and urged global pressure on Moscow to uphold Ukraine’s “territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”
The statement was endorsed by 26 EU members, excluding Hungary, plus Albania, Andorra, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. However, it faced significant opposition, reflecting deep divisions at the UN. Earlier this year, a similar resolution drafted by Kiev and its European allies was rejected by the UN Security Council. A competing US-backed measure ultimately passed, avoiding direct accusations of Russian aggression and instead calling for an “end to the Ukraine conflict.”
Moscow’s deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, dismissed the outcome as a “victory for common sense,” accusing Zelenskiy’s regime of pursuing a destabilizing agenda. The Kremlin has long framed the conflict as a Western proxy war and reiterated its demand that Ukraine abandon claims to five regions annexed by Russia through referendums since 2014, reaffirm neutrality, and guarantee rights for Russian-speaking populations.