U.S. Votes Against U.N. Resolution Demanding Russian Withdrawal from Ukraine

A showdown over Ukraine between the United States and its longtime European allies played out in the United Nations on Monday, as the United States opposed an effort to condemn Russian aggression and call for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

The Trump administration, after seeking to tone down the language, voted against that resolution and introduced its own that simply called for an end to the conflict. Both measures passed, but in siding with Russia against most of its European allies, the United States made a sharp break with the past.

The face-off at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, the third anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, was a remarkable public fissure between Western allies that have typically stood together when it comes to Russia and Europe’s security, demonstrating the sharp turn in U.S. foreign policy under President Trump.

The three-page resolution demanding Russian withdrawal, proposed by Ukraine, also called for a “comprehensive, lasting and just peace,” and for accountability for Russia’s war crimes. It said the invasion “has persisted for three years and continues to have devastating and long- lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability.”

The U.S. resolution was three short paragraphs. It did not mention Russia’s aggression or condemn the invasion. It mourned the loss of life on both sides and said that the United States “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”

The U.N. drama came just days after President Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president who has been lauded by many Western leaders, a “dictator” and falsely asserted that Ukraine had started the war.