BELGRADE – Marking the fourth anniversary of the bloody conflict still raging in Ukraine, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution demanding an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire on 24 February.
The Assembly’s 193 members met exactly four years since the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, it was stated by the UN.
They adopted the resolution, titled “Support for lasting peace in Ukraine” by a recorded vote of 107 in favour to 12 against, with 51 abstentions.
When it comes to the Western Balkans countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia voted in favour, whereas Serbia abstained from voting.
The Assembly called for an immediate ceasefire between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the release of all unlawfully detained persons, and the return of all internees and of civilians forcibly transferred or deported, including children.
“This war, initiated by a permanent member of the Security Council in blatant violation of our Charter, continues to inflict untold suffering on the Ukrainian people,” said General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.
Even as peace talks continue, 2025 was the deadliest year for civilians since the start of this invasion, she said. Nearly 4 million people are internally displaced, while homes, healthcare facilities, schools and energy grids have been deliberately targeted and destroyed, leaving people to freeze to death.
“This violence spares no one – not mothers or fathers, not grandparents and certainly not children”, Baerbock noted.
“No country in modern history has endured an attack of such gravity,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mariana Betsa, who introduced the draft resolution.
According to Betsa, “the Russian Federation seeks to divide the world into spheres of influence and render Ukraine its satellite, but it will not succeed”.
