The United Nations condemns the decisions of the Russian annexation and Zelensky: the move is a “global slap” to Russia

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted by a large majority a draft resolution condemning Russia’s “unlawful” annexation of Ukraine’s regions, after Moscow vetoed a similar draft resolution in the UN Security Council.

This coincides with a pledge by a group of Western countries – led by the United States and Britain – to provide Kyiv with more weapons, including advanced air defense systems. US President Joe Biden considered the result of the General Assembly vote as a “clear message” to Russia that it cannot wipe a sovereign country off the map.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also emphasized that the vote to condemn Russia was a powerful reminder that most countries stand with Ukraine.As for the Ukrainian president, he said that the result of the vote was a “global slap” to Russia.

The General Assembly adopted the resolution by 143 votes to 5, but 35 countries abstained, including China, India, South Africa and Pakistan, despite great US diplomatic efforts.

The resolution condemns “the Russian Federation’s alleged organization of referendums within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine” and the “illegal annexation attempt” announced by President Vladimir Putin last month of 4 Ukrainian regions. It calls on all UN and international agencies not to recognize any changes announced by Russia to the borders, and calls on Moscow to “immediately and unconditionally reverse” its decisions.

A group of countries – led by the United States and Britain – pledged to provide Ukraine with more weapons and ammunition, including air defense systems.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has pledged to provide air defense systems to Kiev as soon as possible. He said that his country is committed to supporting Ukraine in the long term with everything it needs, adding that the members of the contact group on this matter are in agreement on this.

In the same context, the US National Security Council Communications Coordinator John Kirby said that the administration of President Joe Biden will continue to work to provide Ukraine with air defense means to enable it to protect itself.

The British Ministry of Defense also announced today, Thursday, that it will provide Ukraine with additional anti-aircraft missiles, including, for the first time, ammunition capable of shooting down cruise missiles.

In turn, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that her country will send 3 additional units of the “Iris T” air defense system to Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron also announced that his country will deliver Kyiv radars and air defense systems in the coming weeks, adding that France is working in cooperation with Denmark to secure additional shipments of howitzers for Ukrainian forces.

As for Canada, on Wednesday, it announced that it would provide new military aid to Ukraine worth $34 million, including artillery shells, satellite communication systems, winter clothes and drones equipped with high-definition cameras.

The Ukrainian forces had recently achieved what was described as one of the biggest victories since the failure of the Russian attack on the capital, Kyiv, by retaking most of Kharkiv province, the city of Lyman and neighboring towns in Donetsk, and crossing the border to the Lugansk region, which is under almost complete Russian control, but the Russian forces responded with counterattacks, especially towards the city of Bakhmut Donetsk.