The votes are a dramatic international display of the about-face the United States is taking on Ukraine under the Trump administration, prompting stern condemnation and concern from pro-democracy and pro-European advocates and leaders.
The Europe-backed draft resolution -- entitled "Advancing a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine" -- passed the U.N. General Assembly with 93 votes in favor, 65 abstentions and United States joining Russia, Belarus, North Korea and 15 other countries, many authoritarian, in voting against it.
The three-page resolution includes language that emphasizes the war began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and that all states under the U.N. Charter are obligated to refrain from "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State."
"A historic, shameful moment in U.S. history as it votes with Belarus, Russia at the UN," Guy Verhofstadt, president of the European Movement International, said on X.
"The gamekeeper has become the poacher."
The original three-paragraph U.S. resolution, titled "The path to peace," was a neutral document that makes no reference to Russia's responsibility for the war. It only passed the General Assembly following amendments from European leaders that labeled Russia the war's aggressor, which led the United States to vote in abstention.
The original resolution, however, was adopted by the Security Council with allies France, Britain, Greece, Denmark and Slovenia being the five nations to cast abstention votes.
The United States, under the administration of President Joe Biden, was a staunch ally of Ukraine, vowing to stay by its side for as long as it takes and even voted in favor last year to a similar resolution that it voted against on Monday.
Under the Trump administration, the United States has sought a speedy end to the three-year-old war and has attracted criticism for capitulating to Russia by stating Ukraine should not expect to retain its pre-2014 borders and that any peace deal will not include Kyiv being able to continue the process to join NATO.
President Donald Trump has also made false statements concerning the war, such as claiming the conflict was started by Ukraine and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a dictator, though the country is unable to hold elections due to being under martial law due to the war.
Tymofiy Mylovanov, former advisor to Zelensky, described the United States' decision to vote alongside Russia instead of simply abstaining a deliberate move.
"This is no longer just rhetoric or political theater. These are actions that leave not much room for interpretation," he said on X. "This is a direct middle finger to the rest of the democratic world."
Before the General Assembly vote, Dorothy Camille Shea, interim chargé d'affaires for the United States, urged countries to vote in favor of their draft resolution that calls for a "durable end to the war."
"This is what is needed now," she said. "A simple, historic statement from the General Assembly that looks forward, not backwards. A resolution focused on one, simple idea: Ending the war. A path to peace is possible."
Barbara Woodward, Britain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council in explanation of London's abstention vote on the U.S. resolution, remarked that no country wants peace more than Ukraine, but the terms that establish peace are important.
"The terms of the peace must send a message that aggression does not pay," she said. "This is why there can be no equivalence between Russia and Ukraine in how this Council refers to this war.
"If we are to find a path to sustainable peace, the Council must be clear on the war's origins. We also owe it to the people who have suffered so much."
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