The UN Security Council voted on Monday in favour of a U.S. government resolution on Ukraine that called for a rapid end to the war but did not name Russia as the aggressor.

This is the first time that the most powerful UN body has reached a joint decision on the war.

Ten countries voted in favour of the resolution and five abstained, thereby reaching the required majority.

The U.S. voted with Russia and China, while all five European countries on the council—Great Britain, France, Slovenia, Denmark, and Greece—abstained.

In theory, the British and French have the right to veto a resolution, but they have not used it since 1989.

Resolutions in the UN Security Council are binding under international law.

The adopted document, titled ‘The Path to Peace’,’ did not name Moscow as the aggressor in the war and did not call for a Russian withdrawal, merely a swift end to the war.

The British UN ambassador, Barbara Woodward, spoke out clearly against the resolution.

“There can be no equivalence between Russia and Ukraine in how this Council refers to this war,” said Ms Woodward.

She said in a speech before the council that was also released as a statement.

The vote came on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Today, we remember the millions of Ukrainians displaced, the tens of thousands of civilians killed, and the lives destroyed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s imperial ambition,’’ Ms Woodward said.

France’s UN ambassador, Nicolas de Rivière, said peace and security would not be possible if aggression were rewarded.

U.S. ambassador Dorothy Shea said the resolution was a first step.

“This resolution puts us on the path to peace. It is a first step but a crucial one, one of which we should all be proud. Now we must use it to build a peaceful future for Ukraine, Russia, and the international community,’’ she said.

Earlier on Monday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution with the support of European countries but not the U.S.

It identified Moscow as the aggressor in the war and demanded that Russian troops withdraw from Ukrainian territory.

Unlike the council, resolutions in the General Assembly are not legally binding, but a vote in the UN’s largest body was seen as a global test of sentiment.

(dpa/NAN)