UN Security Council to vote on resolution, asks Moscow to withdraw troops from Ukraine

The United Nations Security Council will vote today on a draft resolution demanding Moscow to immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

The US-drafted resolution is then expected to be taken up by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly within days.

A senior US official said the Biden administration said the measure might be blocked in the 15-member Security Council, but Washington and allies see voting as a chance to show Russia is isolated over its actions. Diplomats opined that at least 11 members would vote in favor, while it was unclear how China, and rest would vote. The council is scheduled to vote at 1:30 am (Indian Time)

Russia is one of the Council veto powers, along with other permanent members of the UN Security Council, China, France the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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In a related development, the European Union EU has announced extensive new sanctions on Russia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a watershed moment for Europe.

Speaking after a meeting that ended in the early hours in Brussels today, Ms. Ursula said, the sanctions will target areas including the financial sector, energy, transport, and visas for the Russian elite.

The sanctions, however, do not cover the import of Russian gas into the EU. Questioned on this, Von der Leyen said, they were urgently looking at how to wean Europe off its dependence on Russian energy.

French President Emmanuel Macron, said, 336 million dollars of aid would be offered to Ukraine, as well as military equipment.