By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Following the resolution of the UN General Assembly which says Moscow should face the consequences of its February invasion of Ukraine, including paying reparations, Russia has kicked against the call, saying it would stop the West from seizing its international reserves to pay compensations to Kyiv.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused the West of attempting to “formalise robbery” and violate the rules of private property and international law.
The resolution said that Russia “must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts”.
It also recommends that member states, in collaboration with Ukraine, create an international register to record evidence and claims against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the resolution, saying that reparations paid by Russia are now “part of the international legal reality”.
Ahead of the vote, Kyiv’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the assembly that Russia had targeted everything from factories to residential buildings and hospitals in the war.
In addition to needing finance to rebuild infrastructure, he said that recovery “will never be complete without a sense of justice for the victims of the Russian war”, adding: “It is time to hold Russia accountable.”
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia labelled the resolution “legally null and void”, and accused the West of “trying to draw out and worsen the conflict”.
The resolution was supported by 94 out of 193 member states, while 14 – including Russia, China and Iran – voted against it. The remaining countries all abstained.
