The United Nations General Assembly added its condemnation to Russia’s annexation of Crimea on Thursday by approving a resolution declaring the move illegal. A majority of General Assembly approved the Ukraine-backed resolution with 100 nations voting for the measure, 11 against, and 58 abstentions. The resolution declares “the mid-March referendum in Crimea that led to the peninsula’s annexation by Russia ‘has no validity’.”
While the non-binding resolution was largely symbolic, the BBC reports, Ukraine hopes to use it to ward off further Russian incursions. “The resolution was regarded as an important pressure point on Russia by the United States and European Union, which had been lobbying intensely for its passage,” according to the New York Times. Ukraine’s fear that Moscow may not be done meddling in the country comes as Ukrainian officials report that nearly 100,000 Russian troops have been stationed along its border. Additional support for Ukraine was also approved on Thursday as Congress approved a $1 billion loan guarantee and the International Monetary Fund agreed to an $18 billion loan deal with Ukraine.
