Nigeria joined 106 other member states at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to back Ukraine, marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion launched on February 24, 2022.
Meeting in an emergency special session, the Assembly adopted a resolution titled “Support for lasting peace in Ukraine.”
The measure was approved with 107 votes in favour, 12 against and 51 abstentions, including the United States.
The resolution urged a comprehensive, just and enduring peace, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners of war, and the return of civilians forcibly transferred, including children.
It also reaffirmed commitment to “the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.”
President of the United Nations General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, said Russia’s full-scale invasion had upended Europe’s peace.
“War must never be the new normal,” she said.
“Four years ago, people in Europe woke up in another world because generations like mine have always had the privilege to live a life in peace,” Baerbock said.
“But this changed four years ago with the full invasion by Russia of the neighbouring country of Ukraine.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres lamented the anniversary, describing the invasion as a breach of international law and the UN Charter.
“This devastating war is a stain on our collective consciousness & remains a threat to regional & international peace & security,” Guterres said.
“The longer the war continues, the deadlier it becomes. Civilians bear the brunt of this conflict, with 2025 witnessing the largest number of civilians killed in Ukraine.
“This is simply unacceptable. I reiterate my call for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire as a first step towards a just, lasting & comprehensive peace. ”
He added that the global community must “use every diplomatic tool” to end the conflict as it enters its fifth year.
At a debate of the United Nations Security Council, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mariana Betsa, described Russia’s actions as a direct assault on the international order.
She pointed to mass attacks on civilians, nuclear threats and the deportation of children as possible war crimes.
Betsa maintained that peace must begin with an “immediate ceasefire,” urging tougher sanctions, enhanced air defence systems and binding security guarantees. She stressed that Kyiv would not accept territorial concessions, calling sovereignty a “red line,” and pressed for prisoner swaps and accountability.
She warned that if aggression succeeds, “no country will feel safe.”
In response, Russia’s representative dismissed the session as irrelevant to maintaining global peace and security, accusing European nations of prolonging the war while sidelining negotiations.
He alleged that the 2014 change of power in Ukraine installed a “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv and claimed that abuses against Russian speakers had been ignored.
Moscow reiterated that diplomacy remains “preferable,” but insisted that any agreement must address what it described as the conflict’s “root causes” and acknowledge “new territorial realities.”
