The debates on the condemnation of the annexation of Ukrainian regions by Russia began Monday, October 10 at the UN in an atmosphere all the more tense as Moscow had just struck, a few hours earlier, several Ukrainian cities, including kyiv.
The scale of the attacks, which shocked many capitals, unsurprisingly sparked a skirmish between the two countries. “Russia has once again proven that it is a terrorist state that must be deterred in the strongest possible way”, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said. His Russian counterpart, Vassily Nebenzia, immediately retorted that Ukraine was “the most scandalous of terrorist organizations”, two days after the explosion that damaged the Crimean Bridge.
“So-called referendums”
Even before the bombings, the issue of referendums on the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson was scheduled for the General Assembly, after Russia vetoed a similar resolution in the Security Council. , Friday, September 30. The resolution condemns the annexations “illegal” Ukrainian regions after “so-called referendums”highlights their lack of validity and calls on countries not to recognize these annexations.
This text, which should be presented to the 193 Member States for a vote at the end of the debates, if possible as of Wednesday, pursues a double objective: to engrave in stone the illegality of the referendums launched by Moscow with regard to international law; and allow to assess the current degree of isolation of Russia, while some support for Ukraine and its Western allies seems to be eroding.
The sponsors of the text, the European Union and Ukraine, hope to gather between 100 and 141 votes to prove that the international community is still massively leaning towards Ukraine – 100 member states had condemned the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and 141 countries condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine on March 2. “But it’s going to be tight”recognizes one of the diplomats responsible for mobilizing support.
“The UN Charter is clear, the General Assembly has been clear, the Secretary-General has been clear: aggression is illegal, affirmed the President of the Assembly, the Hungarian Csaba Korosi. Invading a neighbor is illegal. » This break with traditional reserve due to his function has also earned him a reprimand from the Russian ambassador.
A “mainly European” war
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