Israel found itself aligned with an unfamiliar company in a vote on a U.N. General Assembly resolution marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The General Assembly adopted a European Union-backed resolution, which calls for de-escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution. The vote was 93-18 with 65 abstentions.
The United States opposed the measure, instead pushing its own simpler text, which did not fault Russia for initiating the conflict. It did so in line with recent comments from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Israel supported the U.S. position on the E.U. resolution, as did Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Hungary, Mali, Marshall Islands, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, Palau, Russia and Sudan.
A Russian amendment referencing the conflict’s “root causes” was rejected.
The vote marked the first occasion that Washington has sided with Moscow since the onset of the war. The United States and several small, island nations traditionally align with Israel at the United Nations, but North Korea, Belarus and Eritrea—three global pariahs—rarely vote with Jerusalem. (The Israeli mission to the United Nations in New York declined to comment.)
U.S. officials were reportedly lobbying hard for support in rejecting the E.U. resolution and passing their own. Israel is thought to have presented its support to thank the Trump administration for backing the Jewish state and to ensure further cooperation.
Russia had regularly and viciously castigated the U.S.-Israel relationship in the context of the Israel-Hamas war during the Biden administration. Israel has sided with Ukraine in the war, although it did so subtly and after some delay once the war began.
Ukrainian officials have criticized Israel occasionally for not supporting Kyiv enough. Critics have said Ukraine rarely supported Israel in international fora before being invaded.
The United States ended up abstaining on its own resolution after several amendments focused on Ukrainian sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, which it deemed unfavorable—and which made the text more similar to the E.U. resolution—passed the General Assembly.
Washington’s amended resolution passed 93-8. Israel was among the 73 abstentions.
“These amendments pursue a war of words, rather than an end to the war,” stated Dorothy Shea, the U.S. interim envoy to the United Nations. “Neither these amendments, nor the resolution offered by Ukraine, will stop the killing. The U.N. must stop the killing.”
The Israeli mission did not offer a speaker during the General Assembly debates, which took place both before and after the votes.
