The U.S. sent a letter to U.N. member states asking them to vote for the American version of a resolution marking the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine that does not name Moscow as the aggressor, Suspilne reported on Feb. 24, citing an obtained text of the letter.
According to the letter, Washington calls for a vote against "any other option or amendments presented during the 11th emergency special session on Feb. 24, 2025."
The news underscores Washington's shifting views on the Russia-Ukraine war since the accession of President Donald Trump.
According to reporting from last week, the U.S. allegedly refused to co-sponsor a U.N. resolution on Russia's all-out war, which reaffirms Ukraine's territorial integrity and condemns Moscow's aggression.
More than 50 countries, including all EU states and Ukraine, are the authors of the collective draft. It calls Russia an aggressor country and demands that it withdraw its troops from all of Ukraine's territory.
The U.N. General Assembly is expected to consider the two resolutions on Russia's war later on Feb. 24.
The U.S. version of the resolution, dubbed the "Path to Peace," reportedly does not name Russia as the aggressor but calls for "an immediate end to the conflict." Moscow proposed adding a phrase to this sentence — "including by addressing its root causes," the media outlet reported.
The authors of the collective and competing resolution proposed to replace the word "conflict" with "Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine" and to call for a "just lasting peace" instead of merely a "lasting peace."
Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz avoided directly naming Russia the aggressor in its war against Ukraine in interviews with Fox News.
The Pentagon chief acknowledged there was "an invasion into Ukraine" without naming Russia. When asked if it's fair to say that Russia attacked Ukraine without provocation in 2022, Hegseth replied that it's "fair to say it’s a very complicated situation."
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed to mediate a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia while using increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Kyiv. He dubbed President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and accused Ukraine of starting the war.
Soon after, Trump admitted that Russia launched a full-scale war by attacking Ukraine.
"Russia attacked, but they shouldn't have let him attack," Trump said.
The U.S. also opposed directly calling Russia the "aggressor" in a G7 statement devoted to the anniversary of the invasion, according to the Financial Times, which marked the first time the U.S. has pushed back on such language.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
