An unexpected situation has emerged on the international stage: during the UN General Assembly vote on the Ukrainian resolution addressing the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, the U.S. joined the opponents of the document, supporting Moscow’s position.
Source: Gazeta.UA
The resolution, which calls for strengthening international cooperation and mitigating the effects of the Chernobyl NPP accident, was supported by 97 countries. The U.S., Russia, Belarus, China, North Korea, Nicaragua, and Niger voted against it. Another 39 delegations abstained.
The document acknowledges the long-term consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and the need for continued international assistance, as well as concerns over damage to the new confinement on February 14, 2025, caused by a Russian drone attack. The resolution establishes the use of the Ukrainian transliteration “Chornobyl” in official UN materials and schedules a special session on April 24, 2026, for the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.
A U.S. delegation representative explained that the vote against the resolution was not related to support for Ukraine in nuclear security. The U.S. disagreed with references to the 2030 Agenda, as some provisions, in their view, “promote a soft global governance agenda incompatible with U.S. national sovereignty.” At the same time, she assured that Washington will continue to support international initiatives to strengthen nuclear security and prevent incidents at Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Ukraine’s permanent representative to the UN criticized Belarus’s attempts to promote an alternative document, calling it cynical given Minsk’s participation in Russia’s invasion and the capture of the Chernobyl NPP at the start of the full-scale war. He also emphasized the importance of abandoning the Soviet transliteration “Chernobyl” as part of the imperial legacy.