India snubs Russia’s demand for a secret ballot on draft resolution on Ukraine

India voted in favour of a public vote on the draft resolution along with more than 100 other countries, rejecting Russia’s demand for a secret ballot in the UN General Assembly on a draft resolution to condemn Moscow’s “illegal” annexation of four areas of Ukraine.

The Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine were the subject of “illegal so-called referendums” and “attempted illegal annexation,” which the 193-member UN General Assembly condemned on Monday. Albania made the motion that the vote on the draught resolution is conducted by recorded vote.

Russia had insisted that a secret ballot vote be used to decide the proposal.

107 UN members, including India, voted in favour of a recorded vote, rejecting Moscow’s desire for a secret ballot.

Only 13 countries supported Russia’s request for a secret ballot, and 39 others stayed silent. China and Russia were two of the nations that abstained from voting.

After the motion to conduct a recorded vote was approved, Russia appealed the general assembly president’s decision.

India was one of the 100 nations who voted against Moscow’s challenge in the recorded vote on the appeal.

Russia then asked for the choice to adopt the Albanian motion to be put to a recorded vote to be reconsidered.

After 104 countries, including India, voted against such a reconsideration, 16 voted in favour, and 34 abstained, the General Assembly chose not to reconsider the motion.

Following Russian airstrikes on many Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, where at least 10 people were killed and almost 60 others were injured nationwide, the UNGA action took place just hours later.

The External Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson in New Delhi, Arindam Bagchi, stated that the escalation of hostilities was not in anyone’s best interests and that India was prepared to help any efforts made to defuse the situation.

“India is deeply concerned at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, including the targeting of infrastructure and deaths of civilians,” he said, urging the immediate cessation of hostilities.