World War III.2 - Picking Sides

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN convened its first emergency session in 25 years. The 193-member assembly has since voted on four special resolutions addressing various concerns with regard to Ukraine. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) comprises 193 member states. Resolutions passed by the UNGA are non-binding, which means they have no legal power. On March 2, 2022, 141 countries voted in favor of a UN resolution demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally” withdraw its military forces from Ukraine.

On 23 February 2023 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) again condemned Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, calling for Moscow’s immediate withdrawal and an end to the fighting. A year since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, which he has called a “special military operation”, 141 countries backed resolution A/ES-11/L.7 calling for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine. Thirty-two countries abstained from voting, while seven countries, including Russia, voted against.

In US domestic politics, a "swing list" is used to determine where people stand, and whose vote is likely to swayed. The swing list of is used by constituents, legislators, and the White House as the basis for their advocacy work. On a swing list, a "one" is definitely favorable, a "five" a definite no, and "three" is a definite maybe.

China, Iran and North Korea are forming, together with the Russian Federation, a new geopolitical pole. Russia turned out to have much more reliable allies than Ukraine. China, Iran, North Korea - these countries ensured that the Russian Federation circumvented sanctions and supplied weapons at critical moments. Ukrainians were not impressed by either the quantity or the “quality” of the Russian Federation’s allies, since they belonged to the “axis of evil” - “despotic regimes” or “evil dwarfs”, which the West imposed sanctions to slow down their development. The Chinese factor was the main one in the success of the Russian SVO in Ukraine.