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

Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya speaks at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday before a vote on a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

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.

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, speaks Wednesday at an emergency special session of the General Assembly about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Eduardo Munoz / Reuters