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
Israel joined the US and Russia in voting against a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling to reaffirm Ukraine’s territorial integrity on Monday, rejecting a strongly worded condemnation of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor on the war’s third anniversary.
Israel’s vote, likely an overture to US President Donald Trump, marks the first time the country has voted against Ukraine and with Russia since the war began. Jerusalem has previously maintained a delicate balance between its principled support for Ukraine and its need to preserve ties with Moscow, due to its influence over Syria.
The measure was adopted by the body in an overwhelming majority, with 93 member states voting to condemn Russia’s 2022 invasion and demand it return territories occupied by its forces over the course of the ongoing war.
Alongside Israel, the US and Russia, opponents of the resolution included Russia, North Korea, Hungary and 13 others. Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, China and Iran were among the 65 those who abstained.
Since his January swearing-in, Trump drastically shifted the White House line away from its formerly pro-Ukrainian stance under his predecessor Joe Biden.
On Wednesday, Trump branded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator,” lashing out after the former said Trump was being influenced by Russian disinformation as he moves to end the war on terms that Kyiv says are too favorable to Moscow.
Because of the war, Ukraine has delayed elections that were scheduled for April 2024, in accordance with the country’s wartime laws.
In a CNN interview on Sunday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff declined to blame Russia as the war’s sole instigator and suggested that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO had provoked the invasion.
Witkoff’s claim came at the heels of false statements previously made by Trump, in which he alleged Ukraine started the war with Russia and that Zelensky was wildly unpopular among his constituents.
The US put forth its own draft resolution on Monday calling for a negotiated end to the war without any mention of Russian aggression, but proceeded to abstain on its own proposal. The measure failed to pass.