US refuses to blame Russia for Ukraine war, splitting with European allies in UN votes

NATIONS (AP) — In a dramatic shift in transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump, the United States split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three U.N. resolutions Monday seeking an end to the three-year war.

In the U.N. General Assembly, the U.S. joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscow’s aggression and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

The U.S. then abstained from voting on its own competing resolution after Europeans, led by France, succeeded in amending it to make clear Russia was the aggressor. The voting was taking place as Trump was hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington.

It was a major setback for the Trump administration in the 193-member world body, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.

The U.S. then pushed for a vote on its original draft in the more powerful U.N. Security Council, where resolutions are legally binding and it has veto power along with Russia, China, Britain and France. The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five countries abstaining, all from Europe.

The dueling resolutions reflect the tensions that have emerged between the U.S. and Ukraine after Trump suddenly opened negotiations with Russia in a bid to quickly resolve the conflict. They also underscore the strain in the transatlantic alliance over the Trump administration’s engagement with Moscow. European leaders were dismayed that they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary talks last week.

In escalating rhetoric, Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the conflict or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelenskyy responded by saying Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”

Trump's meeting with Macron will be followed by a visit on Thursday from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, key U.S. allies who were in lockstep with Washington on Ukraine just over a month ago. They now find themselves on opposite sides on the best pathway for the UN to call for an end to the war.

In Monday's first vote, the General Assembly approved the Ukrainian resolution 93-18 with 65 abstentions. The result showed some diminished support for Ukraine, because previous assembly votes saw more than 140 nations condemn Russia’s aggression and demand an immediate withdrawal.

The assembly then turned to the U.S.-drafted resolution, which acknowledges “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia,” but never mentions Moscow’s aggression.

In a surprise move, France proposed three amendments, backed by more than European countries, which add that the conflict was the result of a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation." The amendments reaffirm the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, and call for peace that respects the U.N. Charter.

Russia also proposed an amendment calling for “root causes” of the conflict to be addressed.

All the amendments were approved and the resolution passed 93-8 with 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting “yes,” the U.S. abstaining, and Russia voting “no.”

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its “inherent right to self-defense” following Russia’s invasion, which violates the U.N. Charter’s requirement that countries respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.

“As we mark three years of this devastation — Russia’s full invasion against Ukraine — we call on all nations to stand firm and to take … the side of the Charter, the side of humanity and the side of just and lasting peace, peace through strength,” she said. Trump has often stated his commitment to bringing “peace through strength.”

U.S. deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous U.N. resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops “have failed to stop the war,” which “has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond.”

“What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all U.N. member states to bring a durable end to the war,” Shea said.