Isolating Russia
Isolating Russia
"This is an extraordinary moment. Now, at more than any other point in recent history, the United Nations is being challenged.""Vote yes if you believe UN 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 its actions."Linda thomas-Greenfield, U.S.Ambassador to the United Nations"[The resolution did not undergo] full consultations with the whole membership [of the assembly].""Nor does it take full consideration of the history and complexity of the current crisis. It does not highlight the importance of the principle of indivisible security, or the urgency of promoting political settlement and stepping up diplomatic efforts.""These are not in line with China's consistent positions."Zhang Jun, Beijing's envoy to the United Nations"The evil will never stop. It requires more and more space.""[The resolution is] one of the building blocks to build a wall to stop [the Russian offensive against Ukraine].It's already clear that the goal of Russia is not an occupation only. It is genocide,"Sergiy Kyalytsa, Ukraine UN envoy
One
of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council called
to account before the membership of the General Assembly. Where an
unprecedented emergency session was called in the wake of last week's
sudden but anticipated full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. In
the few days of this "special operation" as Moscow calls it, over two
thousand Ukrainians have lost their lives. In the process of the
military occupation, it is not only military bases and government
buildings that have been bombed, but civilian areas of Ukraine's cities;
schools, apartment blocks, hospitals.
Millions
of people have taken to seeking shelter in bomb bunkers and subway
tunnels whenever air raid sirens go off warning of yet another bombing
raid. Artillery rounds blow huge gaps in apartment buildings. Russia has
been accused of using cluster bombs in strictly civilian areas, and the
International Criminal Court has been called upon to launch an
investigation of the commission of war crimes.
There
are fears for the further fate of civilian life should radiation be
released by actions of the Russian military which has taken control of
the ill-fated Chernobyl installation and which has now been accused of
bombing Ukraine's nuclear reactor campus at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant, the largest such plant in Europe. Citizens of the closest
town, Enerhodar, had hastily erected road blocks with the use of trucks,
scrap cars and sandbagsm to deter Russian troops from entry.
The
situation is as dire overall as any horror story that might be
imagined. And in response to that unfolding situation, the General
Assembly voted overwhelmingly to 'reprimand' Russia. A non-binding vote
to be sure, but one that consolidates Russia's growing isolation as a
pariah state. Of the assembly's
193 members 141 supported the demand that Moscow withdraw its military forces from Ukraine.
A
half-million Ukrainians have fled to their borders with adjoining
countries that have all pledged to offer haven to the refugees.
Ukrainians that remain in their cities face devastating bombardments and
an uncertain outcome. Many wonder whether they will survive, and what
will happen to their families, their friends, their neighbours, their
country.
Russia
was joined by Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria in voting against
the resolution deploring Russia's "aggression against Ukraine". China,
along with thirty-five assembly members, chose to abstain. Wednesday's
vote assured Ukraine of a symbolic victory over Russia. The vote must
have given Vladimir Putin brief pause for reflection when even
traditional ally Serbia voted against Russia and for the resolution.
Western
governments were accused by Russia's UN envoy of pressuring assembly
members to pass the resolution, denying that Moscow was targeting
civilians. He warned adoption of the resolution could be the source of
fuel for further violence. Since the violence emanates from the Russian
military, with Ukraine responding as best it can for its survival, that
must surely represent a not-so-subtle threat of an enraged Putin
ordering harsher assaults against Ukraine.
The
Russian envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, charged that it was Ukrainian forces
who were using civilians as human shields while deploying heavy weapons
in civilian areas. An accusation that before social media and internet
communications by news media posting videos from the scene, might have
been received with a measure of doubt. But there can be no doubt any
longer than Russia has indulged in outright lies assuring the West that
it had no intention of invading Ukraine despite the huge buildup of
troops on its border.
Labels: Russian Resolution, Ukraine Conflict, United Nations General Assembly
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