General Assembly demands immediate end to Russian aggression in Ukraine

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN General Assembly on Thursday demanded that Russia immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all military forces from Ukrainian territory.

The Assembly also called for an immediate end to attacks against Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure, following weeks of escalation. 

The resolution entitled Safety and security of nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was adopted with 99 countries in favour and nine against (Belarus, Burundi, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria). Sixty Member States abstained.

Nuclear demand

The resolution demanded that Russia “urgently withdraw” its military and other unauthorized personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and “immediately return” the plant to full Ukrainian control – to ensure its safety and security.

“[The Assembly] calls upon the Russian Federation, until it returns the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant…to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia with timely and full access to all areas at the plant that are important for nuclear safety and security in order to allow the Agency to report fully on the nuclear safety and security situation at the site,” the resolution said.

The draft resolution was introduced by Ukraine, and was sponsored more than 50 other countries, including France, Germany and the United States.

Ukraine: Radiation knows no borders

Introducing the text, Ukrainian Ambassador and Permanent Representative Sergiy Kyslytsya said that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been deliberately made an integral element of Russia’s military strategy and warned that the repercussions of an incident there would be catastrophic.

“Radiation knows no borders,” he stated, adding that radioactive fallout can travel great distances and affect regions far removed from the site of the incident.

He said the draft resolution fully supported the mandate of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and reinforces the importance of the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security outlined by the IAEA Director-General.

He urged all nations to vote in favour the resolution, stressing “we owe it to future generations to ensure that the horrors of nuclear disasters are not repeated.”

Russia: A pseudo nuclear package

Explaining his country’s position before the vote, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the draft resolution was harmful, heavily politicized and had nothing to do with nuclear safety.

“The true goal is to use this pseudo nuclear package to sneak in political elements that have nothing to do with the stated problem, even a cursory glance at the text is enough to make this clear,” he said.

He also said that the sponsors of the draft resolution resorted to non-inclusive and non-transparent methods of work, “flatly refusing” any amendments from a number of delegations that sought to depoliticize it.

He accused Ukraine of being the real threat to nuclear safety and security and carrying out regular and reckless attacks on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, its related infrastructure and the nearby city where plant employees and their families live.