The United States has twice sided with Russia in UN votes commemorating the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the Trump administration’s shift in posture on the conflict. First, the two countries vetoed a European-drafted resolution criticizing Moscow’s actions and backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. They then supported a US-drafted resolution at the UN Security Council calling for an end to the violence but including no criticism of Russia. The Security Council resolution was passed, but two important US allies, the United Kingdom and France, abstained in the vote after their attempts to change the wording were rejected.

The rival resolutions were introduced as French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit to President Donald Trump at the White House in an effort to resolve their stark disagreements over the conflict. On Thursday, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will also pay a visit to the incoming American president. Trump’s White House has upended the transatlantic alliance, gaining favor with Moscow while casting doubt on America’s long-term commitment to European security. That schism was exposed on the floor of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Monday, when US diplomats supported a restricted resolution mourning the loss of life during the “Russia-Ukraine conflict” and demanding for its immediate stop. European diplomats presented a more extensive declaration, accusing Russia for the full-scale invasion and defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“We need to reconfirm that the aggression should be condemned and discredited, not rewarded,” stated Mariana Betsa, the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister. The European motion received 93 votes from UNGA members, however the United States voted against it, along with Russia, Israel, North Korea, Sudan, Belarus, Hungary, and 11 other states, with 65 abstentions. The UNGA likewise passed the US resolution, but only after it was altered to include wording backing Ukraine, therefore the US abstained.

The unamended US resolution was approved by 10 votes in the far more powerful UN Security Council, which has 15 members, with the UK, France, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia abstaining. Dorothy Camille Shea, America’s acting envoy to the United Nations, praised the US resolution as a “simple historic statement… that looks forward, not backward.” A resolution centered on a single, simple idea: halt the war.” Rarely has the United States been so at odds with its professed European friends. Since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, the Security Council has been paralyzed by Russia’s ability to veto any resolution, as one of its five permanent members.
As a result, the UNGA has served as the primary platform for debating the war, albeit its resolutions, unlike those of the Security Council, are not legally enforceable on member nations.