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The UN General Assembly approved a resolution proposed by Ukraine on Friday to strengthen global cooperation regarding the Chernobyl disaster, but the United States voted against it alongside Russia, China, Cuba, and North Korea, an unexpected diplomatic coincidence.
The document, supported by 97 countries and rejected by 8 nations, emphasizes the need to repair the confinement structure damaged by a Russian drone attack last February and to maintain international cooperation on nuclear security.
The vote from the United States came as a surprise: Washington opposed the text along with Russia, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Belarus.
According to the media The Kyiv Independent, this coincidence "sends a confusing signal amid Ukraine's effort to diplomatically isolate the Kremlin."
The administration of President Donald Trump justified its vote against, claiming that the text referred to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a multilateral framework that Washington has criticized for being excessively bureaucratic and ideologically biased.
"The United States supports international initiatives on nuclear security, but cannot endorse resolutions that include language inconsistent with its national priorities," said the U.S. representative to the UN.
The vote took place days after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that the confinement structure over reactor number 4 of the plant—built after the 1986 disaster—“has lost its primary safety functions” after sustaining damage from a Russian drone attack in February.
The IAEA report urged to immediately repair the protective shield to prevent radioactive leaks.
Despite the risks, Russia continues to control the exclusion zone, preventing full access for Ukrainian technicians and international inspectors.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha expressed gratitude to the countries that supported the resolution and denounced that Russia attempted to use Belarus to promote an alternative version of the document that removed all references to its attacks on nuclear facilities.
"Russia has once again acted as the aggressor, with Belarus as its accomplice. We thank the 97 countries that did not remain on the sidelines," Sybiha stated on his X account (formerly Twitter).
The voting coincides with the efforts of the Trump Administration to reopen channels of dialogue with Moscow and seek a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine, even if it means accepting territorial concessions in favor of Russia, a stance that has garnered criticism among European allies.
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