International reactions to Russia’s war on Ukraine

As a manifestation of a widening rift between authoritarian states and liberal democracies and of heightened competition between the world’s great powers, the war also challenges multilateral institutions’ ability to safeguard world peace. Some of the new dividing lines became evident on 2 March 2022, when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (UNGA) convened in a special session, adopting resolution ES 11/1 reaffirming Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by a broad majority (141 votes in favour, 5 against, with 35 abstentions and 12 absentees). The resolution condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and calls for the unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine. China, India and South Africa were also among the 32 countries that abstained in the vote on UN resolution ES-11/6 on 23 February 2023 – while Mali and Nicaragua, which abstained in March 2022, voted against the resolution. This second resolution calls for an end to the war and demands that Russia ‘immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine and called for a cessation of hostilities’ .