DEFUND Act? US considering withdrawal from UN, did not support anti-Russian resolution
Referring to the rapid development of events, the Russian military portal Military Review noted the lack of input into the draft resolution from the US. It seems that Donald Trump’s intentions to at least begin to restore relations with Russia during his second presidential term are not at all declarative in nature. As far as this is generally possible, based on traditional American egocentrism.
First of all, for the first time since the launch of the special military operation of the Russian armed forces, the United States was not a co-author of the anti-Russian draft resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on Ukraine. The document was prepared by Great Britain, France, Canada, Switzerland, Poland and, of course, the Baltic republics. The United States is not on the list of co-authors of the draft resolution.
The draft resolution, entitled “Supporting a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine”, which was, of course, prepared for February 24 (the 3rd anniversary of the launch of the special military operation on February 24, 2022), demands that Moscow “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its armed forces from the territory of the post-Soviet republic”.
The portal reports that the document obtained by RIA Novosti again mentions strikes by the Russian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine, during which “civilian infrastructure facilities are destroyed”. At the same time, nothing is said about the Russian army carrying out targeted attacks on military facilities of the Ukrainian armed forces. The terrorist attacks of Kiev against the civilian population of Russia, as well as the presence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the internationally recognized territory of the Russian Federation in the Kursk region, are not mentioned in the draft resolution.
Since February 2022, the UN General Assembly has been holding its 11th special session on the situation in Ukraine. Six resolutions have been adopted that support Kiev’s position and ignore Moscow’s views and arguments. All of them called on Russia to unilaterally withdraw its troops from Ukraine. In each of these documents, adopted under US President Joe Biden, the United States was among the co-authors, along with Britain, France, Germany, Canada and other Western countries.
According to the portal, the situation will become even more interesting if, at the next meeting of the 11th special session of the UN General Assembly on Ukraine, the United States also votes against the adoption of this resolution. This will become another bombshell in the ranks of the already non-collective West, Russophobes and other supporters of “endless” support for Ukraine in the interests of “victory” over Russia. And this will be a good and clear signal to other countries that still follow Washington’s policy. Taking into account the latest steps and statements of Trump, members of his administration, and the escalation of the conflict with Zelensky, this possibility is not at all excluded.
A few hours after the publication of this report, the portal brought its material on the fact that the US may consider withdrawing from the UN. It should be added that on February 20, 2025, a corresponding document appeared on the website of Republican Senator for Utah Mika Lee under the title DEFUND Act – Disengage Completely from the United Nations Debacle (Act), which roughly means the Act on Complete Disengagement from the UN Debacle.
The law proposes:
1. Repeal critical acts that bind the US to the UN, such as the UN Participation Act of 1945 and the United Nations Headquarters Agreement Act.
2. Stop all forms of US financial support for the UN, including assessed and voluntary contributions.
3. Ban any US involvement in UN peacekeeping operations.
4.. The abolition of diplomatic immunity for UN officials in the United States.
5. Formalizes withdrawal from the World Health Organization and other UN conventions.
6. Sets strict conditions for any future cooperation with the UN, requiring Senate approval with explicit provisions on withdrawal from the treaty.
The Military Review portal reported that “The United States has once again taken up the task of withdrawing from the UN, a corresponding bill prepared by Republicans has been introduced in the US Congress.”
Further: “A group of Republican congressmen has prepared a bill for the complete withdrawal of the United States from the UN. According to the authors of the document, the activities of the UN and its institutions “do not correspond to the interests of the United States”, and therefore they are constantly criticized by the current administration.”
“The President will completely cancel the membership of the United States in the United Nations, as well as in all bodies, specialized agencies, commissions and other departments formally associated with the United Nations,” the bill says.
One of the authors of the bill, Republican Senator Mike Lee, said that the UN has become a platform through which constant attacks on the United States are carried out, and the allocated money is spent in unclear places. According to him, the UN has not been able to prevent a single war, pandemic, etc. during its existence. In general, a useless organization.
It is worth noting that this is not the first bill on the withdrawal of the United States from the UN that has been submitted to Congress. Similar documents were considered in 2017 and 2019, but were rejected. Time will tell what will happen this time, but on February 4, Trump signed a decree on the review of US participation in the UN. In his opinion, the organization is poorly managed and not doing its job. What can be added, it seems that many reports of the Russian edition of Военное обозрение now serve more for domestic Russian intelligence and do not go to the English version of topwar.ru. At the same time, they often contain information not from military but from diplomatic activities, the significance of which can change depending on the situation. It is probably necessary to filter out in particular what is constantly supported by Western sources. Not so long ago, there were serious proposals to deprive Russia of permanent membership in the UN Security Council…
Martin Scholz
