• Burmese
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Ashburn
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Isolated Russia Defends Ukraine Invasion at UN General Assembly

AFP by AFP
March 1, 2022
in News, World
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Isolated Russia Defends Ukraine Invasion at UN General Assembly

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia speaks at UN headquarters in New York on Feb. 28

9.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Encountering deepening global isolation, Russia faced urgent calls Monday to end its “unprovoked” and “unjustified” assault on Ukraine as the UN General Assembly’s 193 members held an extraordinary debate on the invasion of the ex-Soviet state.

During the rare emergency special session, just the 11th the Assembly has held in its history, Russia defended its decision to invade its neighbor as nation after nation urged peace from the podium.

On the sidelines, the United States said it was expelling from the country 12 “intelligence operatives” at Russia’s United Nations mission for “engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security.”

RelatedPosts

Iran Vows Retaliation After US Strikes on Nuclear Sites

Iran Vows Retaliation After US Strikes on Nuclear Sites

June 23, 2025
101
Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 17, 2025
267
China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

June 17, 2025
1.8k

Inside the General Assembly hall, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded: “The fighting in Ukraine must stop. Enough is enough.”

Representatives of more than 100 countries are expected to speak over three days as the global body decides if it will support a resolution that demands Russia immediately withdraws its troops from Ukraine.

A vote is expected Wednesday, and it must reach a two-thirds threshold to pass. The resolution is non-binding but will serve as a marker of how isolated Russia is.

Its authors hope they may exceed 100 votes in favor — though countries including Syria, China, Cuba and India are expected to either support Russia or abstain.

“We do not feel isolated,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters.

He reiterated Moscow’s stance, flatly rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies, that its military operation was launched to protect residents of breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

“The hostilities were unleashed by Ukraine against its own residents,” he said during his address.

The vote is also being seen as a barometer of democracy in a world where autocratic sentiment has been on the rise, diplomats said, pointing to such regimes in Myanmar, Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Nicaragua—and of course Russia.

“If Ukraine does not survive, the United Nations will not survive. Have no illusions,” said Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya.

‘I’m afraid’

During an emotional speech, Kyslytsya held up images of what he said were the final text messages from a Russian soldier to his mother before he was killed.

“Mama, I’m in Ukraine. I’m afraid,” Kyslytsya said, reading the messages. “They call us fascists. Mama, this is so hard.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Moscow has pleaded “self-defense” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

But that has been roundly rejected by Western countries and the United Nations itself. They accuse Moscow of violating Article 2 of the Charter, requiring members to refrain from the threat or use of force to resolve a crisis.

Addressing the General Assembly, British Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the war was “unprovoked, unjustified.”

The resolution would be “a message to the world: that the rules we built together must be defended,” she added. “Because otherwise, who might be next?”

China’s UN envoy Zhang Jun warned that “nothing can be gained from starting off a new Cold War,” but did not indicate how Beijing would vote.

The move to hold the emergency session was sparked by Russia using its veto Friday to block a similarly worded Security Council resolution.

Council members can turn to the General Assembly if the five permanent members—Britain, China, France, Russia and the US—fail to agree to act together to maintain peace.

‘Hostile act’

There is no veto right at the General Assembly, which held a similar vote in 2014 condemning Russia’s seizure of Crimea and obtained 100 votes in support.

The Security Council held a separate emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned that the fighting was expected to displace 4 million people.

Nebenzia broke the news of the 12 expelled diplomats during a press conference, saying he had just heard the dozen had been told to leave the US by March 7.

A US spokeswoman said the move had been “in development for several months,” implying it was not directly related to the war.

In response, Moscow called the expulsions a “hostile act.”


You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Junta Planes Bomb Village Sheltering Displaced Karenni Civilians

Myanmar Junta Chief Hands Golden Triangle Resorts to Associates

Myanmar Junta Troops Kill Villagers; Hold Schoolkids Hostage

Your Thoughts …
Tags: attackdebatedefendextraordinary sessionGeneral AssemblyinvasionPeaceUkraineUNUNGAUnited NationsWar
AFP

AFP

News Agency

Similar Picks:

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Boss Tries to Drive Wedge Between Ethnic Armies, Civilians
Burma

Myanmar Junta Boss Tries to Drive Wedge Between Ethnic Armies, Civilians

by The Irrawaddy
December 5, 2023
24.4k

He trotted out the military’s old ‘three national causes’ rhetoric in a bid to persuade the public the junta is...

Read moreDetails
Battle of Paletwa Loss Turns Tide Against Myanmar Junta on Western Front
Analysis

Battle of Paletwa Loss Turns Tide Against Myanmar Junta on Western Front

by Moe Sett Nyein Chan
January 23, 2024
22k

The military’s demoralized Western Command is feeling the heat as the Arakan Army closes in on towns in northern Rakhine,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Continues to Suffer Defeats a Month Into Operation 1027
War Against the Junta

Myanmar Junta Continues to Suffer Defeats a Month Into Operation 1027

by Nayt Thit and Nora
November 27, 2023
18.1k

Unable to reclaim its lost ground, and with fighting escalating on multiple fronts, the regime has been reduced to beefing...

Read moreDetails
Nine Towns in Four Months: the AA’s War in Rakhine
Conflicts In Numbers

Nine Towns in Four Months: the AA’s War in Rakhine

by Hein Htoo Zan
March 13, 2024
15k

The Irrawaddy examines the rapid progress made by the Arakan Army since it launched a major offensive against regime forces...

Read moreDetails
The Reasons Myanmar’s Junta Boss Ventured out of His Naypyitaw Refuge
Analysis

The Reasons Myanmar’s Junta Boss Ventured out of His Naypyitaw Refuge

by Maung Kavi
September 13, 2024
14.5k

Desperate to quell discontent within the military, Min Aung Hlaing’s tour of regional commands and stepped up bombing of rebel-held...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Wa an Early Winner of Myanmar’s Post-Coup War

Wa an Early Winner of Myanmar’s Post-Coup War

The 60th Anniversary of the Myanmar Military’s First Coup is a Sad and Singular Occasion

The 60th Anniversary of the Myanmar Military’s First Coup is a Sad and Singular Occasion

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

1 week ago
1.9k
The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

5 days ago
809

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

    Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • New Law on Civil Servants by Myanmar’s Parallel Gov’t Troubles Observers

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.