On Monday, the UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution in favor of the creation of a compensation mechanism for the human and material destruction caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reports the France-Presse agency, reported by Agerpres.

Unlike the Security Council, where Russia has veto power, Moscow was unable to oppose the passage of this resolution, backed by Ukraine, Canada, the Netherlands and Guatemala, which received 94 votes, down from 143 that condemned Russia’s illegal annexations in October. 12.

14 countries voted against, including Russia, China, Cuba, Mali or Ethiopia, and 73 countries abstained, mainly from the African continent, as well as Brazil, Israel and India.

This resolution demands that Russia “bear responsibility for any violations” of international law and the UN Charter in Ukraine and “accept the legal consequences of all its illegal actions at the international level, in particular by compensating for material and human damages.”

It also establishes the need to create “a compensation mechanism in cooperation with Ukraine” and “an international register of damages for listing (…) evidence and information related to claims for compensation” of individuals, legal entities, and the Ukrainian state.

“Ukraine faces a difficult task – to rebuild the country and get out of the war. But this recovery will never be complete without a sense of justice for the victims of the war led by the Russians, Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Serhiy Kyslytsia said from the gallery of the General Assembly.

Predecessor – compensation commission for Kuwait

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision. “From the liberation of Kherson to the diplomatic victory in New York. The UN General Assembly has just given the green light to Russia’s creation of a compensation mechanism for crimes committed in Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter. “The aggressor will pay for what he did!” Zelenskyy added.

At the UN headquarters in New York, the representative of Russia condemned the desire of Western countries in advance to legalize the use of “billions of dollars” from frozen Russian assets for sanctions against Moscow, including for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine.

Richard Govan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, explained to AFP that “the resolution will not be binding, but it will provide Ukraine with a political basis to prepare the ground for compensation from Russia.” Thus, “the proposed register of damages would quantitatively determine the guilt of Ukraine.”

In his speech, the Ukrainian ambassador cited the example of the Compensation Commission, established by the UN Security Council and operating from 1991 to 2022, which allowed Kuwait to compensate Iraq for $52.4 billion for damages caused by the August 1990 invasion.

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