The UN General Assembly passed a resolution by a large majority on Wednesday, calling on countries not to recognise the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, following so-called referendums held late last month, and demanding that Moscow reverse course on its "attempted illegal annexation".
The results were 143 Member States in favour, with five voting against, and 35 abstentions. The countries who voted against were Belarus, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.
A majority of those countries abstaining were African nations, alongside China and India.
The resolution was supported by a record 143 countries. 5 states voted against - Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Nicaragua. Thirty-five countries abstained, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, as well as India, China and Pakistan.
The resolution “defending the principles” of the UN Charter, notes that the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia are temporarily occupied by Russia as a result of aggression, violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence.
The General Assembly automatically took up the resolution for debate, triggered by Russia’s use of the veto in the Security Council over it’s attempted annexation.
