Bangladesh abstains from UN vote on Russia as war enters second year

A resolution was approved with 141 votes at a special session of the UNGA, a day before the first anniversary of the war between two neighbouring countries

Bangladesh is among 32 countries that refrained from voting as the United Nations adopted a resolution condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine and urging the immediate withdrawal of troops after ending the war.

The resolution was adopted with 141 votes at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, the day before the first anniversary of the war between the two countries.

Six countries joined Russia to vote no -- Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria.

India, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Cuba, Congo, Armenia and Vietnam also abstained from the vote. Three South Asian countries -- Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan -- voted in favour of the resolution.

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, members of the former USSR, took a neutral stance.

After Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022, Bangladesh voted for only one of the four resolutions adopted by the UN. It refrained from voting for the other three.

Members are not legally bound to support the resolutions adopted by the UNGA, but they have political importance.

Usually, Bangladesh does not take part in issues tied to the internal matters of any country unless the issue hampers international humanitarian laws, according to Seheli Sabrin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy dismissed the action at the United Nations as "useless".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the vote.

"This resolution is a powerful signal of unflagging global support for Ukraine," he said in a post on Twitter.