(ANSA-AFP) - UNITED NATIONS, FEB 24 - The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to demand Russia immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine, marking the one-year anniversary of the war with a call for a "just and lasting" peace. Ukraine earned strong backing in a nonbinding vote that saw 141 of the 193 UN members in support, seven opposed and 32, including China and India abstaining. Coming on the eve of the first anniversary of the brutal war, support for Kyiv was little-changed from that of last October when 143 countries voted to condemn Russia's declared annexation of four Ukraine regions. "Today, United Nations General Assembly has just spoken very clear," said European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. "This vote shows that the international community stands with Ukraine." President Joe Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, called the vote "a powerful call for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the UN Charter." The vote came after two days of debate during which Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the international community to choose "between good and evil." He rejected the idea that Kyiv only enjoyed the support of the West -- the European Union, the United States and their key allies. "The vote defies the argument that the Global South does not stand on Ukraine's side, because many countries representing Latin America, Africa, Asia voted in favor today," Kuleba said. "The support is much broader, and it will only continue to be consolidated and to be solidified," he added.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed gratitude to all those "who stood up for Ukraine on the anniversary of the unprovoked Russian aggression." "The world understands whose side the truth is on," he said. (ANSA-AFP).