The News
The US objected to calling Russia an aggressor and refused to co-sponsor a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression ahead of the third anniversary of the Ukraine invasion on Feb. 24.
The US has previously co-sponsored almost all UN resolutions supporting Ukraine, but the Trump administration has so far declined to join the more than 50 countries that are supporting the resolution, Reuters reported.
US officials are also objecting to using the phrase “Russian aggression” in a G7 statement aimed at showing unity, according to the Financial Times. Negotiations about the statement are ongoing, so the US position could still shift.
While the Biden administration frequently used the phrase “Russian aggression” to describe the war, the Trump administration has shifted to describing the war largely as the “Ukraine conflict.”
The diplomatic rift between the US and its pro-Ukraine allies comes as Washington has rapidly sought to improve relations with Moscow, and President Donald Trump attacked Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him a “Dictator without Elections.”
Zelenskyy met with Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg Thursday; Kellogg has said he understands Kyiv’s need for security guarantees as part of a possible peace deal.