Ukraine’s first lady called Wednesday for justice for her country, as the UN General Assembly prepared to meet to weigh a resolution calling for a «just and lasting peace» that Kyiv hopes will show the global community in its support. The UN General Assembly meets Wednesday afternoon in New York to debate a draft resolution, sponsored by some 60 countries, calling for a just peace in Ukraine. The text stresses «the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations». Like previous resolutions, it reaffirms the UN's «commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine» and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

The text, which unlike a Security Council resolution would not create a binding law, demands Russia «immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine». To that end, Ukraine stopped pushing for the inclusion in the resolution of President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace plan, according to diplomatic sources. A year after the invasion of Ukraine, it will also be a message to Russia that «it cannot achieve its objectives through force,» the diplomat added, hoping that if Moscow «feels isolated, at a certain point the pressure will be too strong to be resisted». On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to «systematically» continue his offensive in Ukraine, in an anti-Western speech reminiscent of the Cold War.

As some countries in the global South express weariness that the North is overly focused on the conflict, US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield argued that supporting peace in Ukraine «is not somehow about choosing between the United States and Russia,» but «defending the charter» of the UN. China and others, notably India, have abstained during the series of UN votes on Ukraine. «If Kyiv won't talk about peace, there is a risk that the BRICS countries will start to say Ukraine is the real obstacle to peace,» said International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan, referring to Brazil, India, China and South Africa.