Russia used its veto power in the UN Security Council to block a resolution proposed by a group of Western countries that would have condemned Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, according to a TASS reporter at the scene.
The draft resolution was supported by 11 countries while China, India and the UAE abstained.
The resolution sought to condemn Russia for violating the UN charter, demand that Russia stop using force against Ukraine and pull back its troops. The document would also have condemned Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics as independent and demanded that Russia rescind the decision.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to appeals by the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian troops are not targeting cities, but are incapacitating only military infrastructure and therefore there are no threats to the civilian population.
