India abstains on resolutions on Ukraine amendments; US breaks with allies

India abstained on a series of resolutions on Ukraine and amendments at the General Assembly that saw the US break ranks with its Western allies and side with Russia on some of them showing the ruptures and realignments under President Donald Trump. 

Challenging Trump on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Tuesday, the Western nations managed to pass two resolutions naming Moscow as the aggressor in Ukraine.

In a strange spectacle, the US joined Russia to vote against a resolution put forward by Ukraine and Western nations condemning Russia’s invasion, while China abstained.

The resolution was adopted with 93 votes for it, and 18 against it, with 65 abstentions.

In the environment of confrontation, the votes were significantly lower than the 141 votes a similar resolution received in 2023. (India had abstained on that vote).

A Washington-sponsored resolution that did not name Russia as the invader was cleverly amended at the initiative of Western nations to call out Moscow as the aggressor in Ukraine. A peeved US abstained on the resolution it had proposed after the amendments presented by France’s Permanent Representative Nicolas De Riviere while President Emmanuel Macron was in Washington to meet Trump were adopted.

The US, which is directly discussing with Russia a peace deal for Ukraine, views the condemnation of Moscow as interfering with its initiative. Trump spoke with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his representatives met with Moscow in Riyadh to explore a way to end the war that began on February 24, 2022, and has devasted Ukraine and taken a toll on Russia also.

Justifying not assigning blame, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday called it “a simple, historic resolution” to “chart a path to peace”.

Repeating that at the Assembly, acting US Permanent Representative Dorothy Shea said the previous resolutions that condemned Russia resolutions “have failed to stop the war”.

The US resolution “looks forward, not backwards”, she said, “This is a moment of truth -- a historic moment”. “This has never been about Ukraine” and the resolution will address the global impact of war”, she said.

The Russia-sponsored amendment to Ukraine’s resolution to insert “root causes” of the conflict failed with the US abstaining, getting only 31 votes, while 71 voted against it and 59 abstained.

The France-sponsored amendments to the US invoking the UN Charter and condemning Russia’s invasion were adopted turning it on its head despite Washington’s and Moscow’s negative votes.