UN General Assembly calls for Russia to pay Ukraine for war damages
- A resolution laying the groundwork for possible reparations was passed by 94 countries, with 14 voting against, including Russia, China and Iran
- The text calls for an ‘international register’ to document damage caused by a campaign that has devastated whole cities, including hospitals and schools
The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution that lays the groundwork for the possibility of reparations payments by Russia to war-ravaged Ukraine.
The resolution – passed by 94 countries nearly nine months after Moscow launched its invasion of its neighbour – says Russia “must be held to account for any violations of international law in or against Ukraine”.
Russia “must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts”.
Seventy-three countries abstained on Monday and 14 voted against – including China, Iran, Cuba and Russia.
The text calls for the creation of “an international register” that would document damage caused by Russia during its military campaign that has devastated whole cities, along with energy infrastructure, hospitals, schools, shops and factories.
A United Nations commission of inquiry said in late September they had found an array of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including sexual and gender-related acts of violence by some Russian soldiers.
In a show of bravado, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to the southern city of Kherson on Monday, only days after Russian troops withdrew from the area.
Zelensky said he wanted to express his personal support to the people of Kherson, “so that they feel that we are not just talking about it, not just promising, but returning for real, raising our flag”.
He also said he wanted to feel the emotions and energy of his compatriots himself, adding that it “motivates” him.
Zelensky’s visit came on the same day as the first UN humanitarian convoy reached Kherson’s liberated people. Only 80,000 of the pre-war population of 280,000 remain.
Supplies of food, drinking water, hygiene products, kitchen utensils as well as bedding, warm blankets and solar lamps were provided to 6,000 people, according to a statement by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
More convoys are planned as the UN reported that the city is lacking electricity, water, food and medicine.
The liberation of Kherson was a “significant accomplishment” for Ukraine, the US Department of Defence said on Monday.
Russian forces had relocated onto the eastern side, or left bank, of the Dnipro River, the department said.
“But the liberation [of] Kherson City is a significant accomplishment and a testament to the grit, determination and tenacity of the Ukrainian people and their armed forces as they fight to defend their nation.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking international help to bring back some 11,000 children who, according to Kyiv, have been deported to Russia.
“We know them by name. But these are only the ones we know about. And in fact, there are more deported,” Zelensky said.
Moscow says children are being taken from combat zones to safety or are taken to Russia for treatment and recovery.
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‘Not humiliated,’ says Russia as Ukrainian soldiers retake Kherson amid celebrations
EU support for Ukraine continued on Monday, as Latvia delivered a fresh supply of tanks to the country and EU foreign ministers in Brussels officially launched a military training mission for 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Poland.
Lithuania, which is both an EU and Nato member state and has provided extensive military support to Ukraine throughout the war, sent 12 more M113 armoured vehicles to Ukraine, according to the Defence Ministry in Vilnius.
Elsewhere, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that he is “highly concerned about the current situation in Ukraine” during talks with US President Joe Biden in Bali, ahead of the G20 summit that kicked off on Tuesday.
Xi did not mention the frequently repeated Chinese line of argumentation that Russia’s “legitimate security interests” must be taken into account, perhaps indicating growing frustration in Beijing over it ally’s faltering war in Ukraine.
For his part, Biden called Ukraine’s retaking of the southern city of Kherson from Russia a “significant, significant victory” for Kyiv.
“I can do nothing but applaud the courage, determination and the capacity of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian military. I mean they have really been amazing,” Biden told reporters.
Biden anticipated the fighting would “slow down a bit” due to the winter months. “It remains to be seen exactly what the outcome will be,” Biden said of the war.
Despite losses of territory, Russian troops still occupy almost a fifth of Ukraine.
“Our goal is to liberate the entire country of Ukraine from Russian occupation,” Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzhny said late Monday on Telegram.
“The Ukrainian military will not accept any negotiations, agreements or compromise decisions. There is only one condition for negotiations: Russia must leave all occupied territories.”
