In a major diplomatic shift, the United States on Monday voted alongside Russia in seeking to block a United Nations General Assembly resolution by Ukraine that called for stopping hostilities and peacefully resolving the war in Eastern Europe.

The Donald Trump administration split with its European allies by refusing to blame Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three UN resolutions, the Associated Press reported.

The resolutions were moved on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which triggered the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Washington’s decision not to support Kyiv’s position came amid fissures between the Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the past week.

Trump had called Zelenskyy a “dictator” for not holding elections during the war and falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war. The US president had also warned that Zelenskyy “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead.

The Ukrainian president has responded by saying that Trump was living in the Russian “disinformation space”.

Trump’s representatives and their Russian counterparts met last week for talks on ending the Ukraine conflict mediated by Saudi Arabia. Ukraine was left out of the talks.

The main resolution, moved by Ukraine and backed by several European nations, reaffirmed the United Nations General Assembly’s commitment to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It also reiterated the need for the full implementation of resolutions the Assembly had adopted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, particularly its demand for Moscow to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw” its military from Ukrainian territories.

The resolution was passed 93:18 but 65 members, including India and China, abstained from voting.

While such resolutions are not legally binding, they act as a barometer of global opinion on the conflict. In previous General Assembly votes on the matter, more than 140 members, including the United States, had condemned Russia’s aggression.

On Monday, the US abstained from voting on its own counter resolution taking a neutral position on the conflict. This came after the European nations led by France, amended it to say that Russia was the aggressor in the conflict.

The voting took place as Trump hosted French President Emmanuel Macron.

Hours later, however, the US moved its original resolution in the 15-member UN Security Council. The resolution was passed 10:0 after five European members – Britain, France, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia – abstained from voting.

The council’s resolutions are legally binding.