UN rejects Russia's request for secret vote on Ukraine referendum


The UN General Assembly has voted to reject Russia's request for a secret ballot vote on whether to condemn Russia for its "attempted illegal annexation" of four Ukrainian territories. Russia originally asked for the resolution's vote to be secret in hopes that it would garner more support through anonymity, reports The Associated Press.
The General Assembly decided with 107 votes that the ballot will be public. They will vote on the resolution on either Wednesday or Thursday, Reuters reports. Only 13 countries opposed a public vote while 39 others abstained; the remaining countries, including China and Russia, did not vote. India voted in favor of a public vote, a surprising outcome as it had abstained from voting on the draft of the resolution condemning Russia's actions just last month.
The resolution would call for Russia to completely reverse its actions and withdraw from the region.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a letter to the UN, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia wrote that "it may be very difficult if positions are expressed publicly," due to Western lobbying. Nebenzia argued that making the vote public is "yet one more step towards division and escalation."
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergey Kyslytsya said that "Russia has proven once again that it is a terrorist state that must be deterred in the strongest possible ways."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from