The UN GA voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and calling for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

At an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly, 141 out of 193 member states voted for the resolution, 35 abstained and five voted against.

Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Russia and Syria voted against the resolution. Abstentions included China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, South Africa, Nicaragua, CAR, India.

Turkey voted in favour. Azerbaijan did not participate in the vote.

The resolution, which was co-sponsored by 94 countries, said the UN “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”. It demanded that “the Russian Federation immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine” and “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces”.

The resolution is not legally binding, but is an expression of the views of the UN membership, aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow and its ally, Belarus.

After the vote, China's permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun, said the resolution did not take into account the history and complexity of the situation, TASS reported.