The United Nations General Assembly voted Wednesday to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demand an immediate military withdrawal.
Out of 193 member countries, 141 voted to approve the resolution, five opposed, and 35 abstained.
The language of the resolution “deplores” Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine” and “demands that the Russian Federation immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
While such a measure doesn’t have the teeth of hard power, it represents the international community’s willingness to ostracize Russia over what the majority of members view as an illegitimate, violent violation of an independent nation’s sovereignty.
“We believe this is a simple vote,” said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield during remarks on Wednesday. “Vote yes if you believe U.N. member states, including your own, have a right to sovereignty and territorial integrity. Vote yes if you believe Russia should be held to account for his actions. Vote yes if you believe in upholding the U.N. Charter and everything this institution stands for.”
The vote comes as Ukraine faces its seventh day of conflict, which has escalated into the aerial bombardment of major cities and their industrial and civilian centers. The attacks have triggered a humanitarian crisis, causing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians to evacuate and seek refuge in neighboring nations.
Russia has been accused of committing criminal acts of war by targeting civilian and symbolic sites, including a hospital, TV station, and a Holocaust memorial. To inflict high devastation and destruction, the Russian military has reportedly resorted to using advanced weapons, such as vacuum bombs, which remove oxygen from the air to generate a massive explosion. Video footage has been captured showing enormous blasts erupting in the horizon.
U.S. intelligence has gathered that Russia had deployed launcher systems that could carry such thermobaric weapons, which can demolish buildings and barriers as well as vaporize human bodies, a senior defense official told CBS News on Wednesday.
After Russia launched its assault, the U.N. Security Council called an emergency session of the General Assembly, the first time that had happened since 1982, Reuters reported. The main body voted on the resolution after a similar one failed to pass in the 15-member U.N. Security Council Friday due to Russia vetoing it. Russia is one of five permanent members on the panel.
Some American adversaries were among the nations that abstained from the General Assembly vote Wednesday, namely China, as well as those that opposed the resolution, namely Russia and North Korea.
There is growing pressure to expel Russia from other multinational organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, over its aggression.