Newsman: The United Nations General Assembly voted 141-5, with 35 abstentions, to demand Russia halt the war. The vote came after the 193-member assembly convened its first emergency session in a quarter century.
China was among 35 countries that abstained. Belarus and North Korea were among Russia’s supporters, along with Syria and Eritrea. Longtime allies China, Cuba and Venezuela abstained.
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said after the vote that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine must be respected in line with the U.N .Charter. He said the “brutal effects” of the conflict on Ukrainians were plain to see – and that the situation would get much worse.
He also said the U.N. appeal for humanitarian aid was met with record generosity that will fund delivery of vital medical and health supplies, food, drinking water, shelter and protection.
“The message of the General Assembly is loud and clear. End hostilities in Ukraine now,” Guterres said. “Silence the guns now. Open the door to dialogue and diplomacy now.”
Last week Moscow vetoed a similar resolution before the U.N. Security Council.
Meanwhile, Russian military forces escalated attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine’s largest cities Wednesday as the nation’s leaders pledged to repel the invaders and the citizenry joined the military effort to defend their battered country.
The U.N. human rights office reported 136 civilian deaths, but the true toll was likely much higher. Ukrainian emergency services, meanwhile, say more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have died. Observers say Russian troops have killed hundreds of civilians, including more than a dozen children.
The humanitarian situation is worsening in the region. A U.N. refugee agency said more than 847,000 people have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries since the invasion began, a number that could surpass 1 million within days.
Shabia Mantoo, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the situation “looks set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century.”
The vast majority of those leaving Ukraine are women and children. An order from Ukraine’s government prohibits men 18- to 60-years-old from leaving the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a televised address to the nation one week into the hostilities, rallied his people and praised them for their resolve.
“During this time, we have truly become one,” Zelenskyy said. “We forgave each other. We started loving each other. We help each other. We are worried for each other.”
Outside Kyiv, an enormous Russian military convoy — estimated at 40 miles — continues to encounter strong Ukrainian resistance and supply problems, stalling its progress toward the capital city.
Russia claimed to have taken control of Kherson, a southern Ukraine city of almost 300,000. Kherson Mayor Igor Nikolayev, however, denied the claim.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will leave Thursday on a trip of six European countries, five of them in Russia’s periphery — Poland, Moldova and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Blinken will first stop in Belgium for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced a special task force to go after the assets of billionaire oligarchs who support Putin and benefit from his regime.
President Joe Biden zeroed in on Russian financial and political elites in his State of the Union address Tuesday, saying: “Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: ‘No more.’
“We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement the primary goal of the task force will be to enforce the sweeping sanctions and restrictions the U.S. and its allies and partners have imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. is slapping additional sanctions against Russia and Belarus over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The White House said Wednesday the U.S. will impose stringent export controls on Belarus, which has hosted Russian troops and equipment and has been a Russian staging ground for the attack. The export controls aim to prevent the diversion of items, technologies and software through Russia to Belarus and limit the two countries’ ability to obtain materials they need for the invasion.
The State Department is imposing sanctions that target Russia’s defense sector. Twenty-two Russian defense-related entities will be targeted, including firms that make combat aircraft, infantry fighting vehicles, electronic warfare systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles for Russia’s military.
The U.S. also is restricting exports on oil and gas extraction equipment to Russia, which could degrade Moscow’s status as a leading energy supplier, and is targeting entities that have been involved with or supported Russian and Belarusian security services, military and defense sectors.
That will keep the military, aerospace, maritime and high-technology sectors in those countries from obtaining U.S. goods and technology that can be used to support Russian technical maintenance and innovation, the White House said.
