United Nations (PTI): India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that demanded that Russia immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and urgently withdraw its military and other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on Thursday with 99 votes in favour, nine against and 60 abstentions, including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Those voting against the resolution included Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Russia and Syria.

The resolution titled ‘Safety and security of nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’ demanded that Russia “immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.”

It also demanded that Russia urgently withdraw its military and other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and immediately return the plant to the full control of the sovereign and competent authorities of Ukraine to ensure its safety and security. It called for the “immediate cessation of the attacks” by Russia against the critical energy infrastructure of Ukraine, which increases the risk of a nuclear accident or incident at all nuclear facilities of Ukraine.

The draft resolution was introduced by Ukraine and was sponsored by over 50 member states, including France, Germany and the United States.

It called upon Moscow, until it returns the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant of Ukraine to the full control of the sovereign and competent authorities of Ukraine, to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia with timely and full access to all areas at the plant that are important for nuclear safety and security to allow the Agency to report fully on the nuclear safety and security situation at the site.

In the explanation of the vote before the vote on the resolution, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy said the General Assembly has “unfortunately” adopted many documents that are non-consensual, politicised and do not reflect reality.

"Make no mistake: votes in favour of today's draft will be regarded by Kyiv, Washington, Brussels and London as evidence of support for their policy of further escalating the Ukrainian conflict to the detriment of steps taken by a sensible part of the international community to find a peaceful, sustainable and long-term solution to the conflict,” he said.

 

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Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.

The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.

"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.

The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.

There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.

Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.

The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.