28 February – 2 March 2022 At the start of the special session on 28 February 2022,
General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid of the
Republic of Maldives called for the delegations to observe a minute's silence. Russia defended its military operation in
Ukraine, and blamed the violence on the Ukrainian government. Ukraine's representative to the UN,
Sergiy Kyslytsya, condemned Russia's acts as "war crimes" and called Putin's decision to increase the nuclear readiness "madness". He warned, "If Ukraine does not survive, international peace will not survive. If Ukraine does not survive, the United Nations will not survive. ... If Ukraine does not survive, we cannot be surprised if democracy fails." Around a hundred delegations lodged requests to address the assembly. – a non-binding resolution reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, deploring Russia's aggression and Belarus's involvement in it, and demanding the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the territory of Ukraine. It also resolved to temporarily adjourn the emergency special session, authorizing the General Assembly President to resume its meetings upon request from member states.
23–24 March 2022 On 23 March, the session was continued and two more competing resolutions were introduced. Ukraine introduced the resolution "Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine" (A/ES-11/2) and South Africa introduced the resolution "Humanitarian situation emanating out of the conflict in Ukraine" (A/ES-11/3). On 24 March, resolution A/ES-11/2 received 140 votes in favour and 5 against, with 38 countries abstaining.
Resolution ES-11/2 reaffirmed the member states' existing commitments and obligations under the
United Nations Charter and reiterated the General Assembly's demand that Russia withdraw from Ukraine's recognized sovereign territory; it also deplored, expressed grave concern over and condemned attacks on civilian populations and infrastructure. Fourteen principles were agreed. Briefly, the principles demanded the full implementation of
Resolution ES-11/1, immediate cessation of the hostilities by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, full protection of civilians – including humanitarian personnel, journalists and persons in vulnerable situations – and encouraged "continued negotiation".
7 April 2022 The emergency special session reconvened on 7 April to discuss a resolution co-sponsored by 53 delegations to suspend Russia's membership of the
United Nations Human Rights Council on account of reported "violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation, including gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights". In introducing the draft resolution,
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine, reminded the Assembly of the UN's failure to take determined action to prevent the
Rwandan genocide in 1994,
a tragedy the UN commemorates every year on 7 April. He drew a parallel between Rwanda's presence as a non-permanent member of the
Security Council at the time and Russia's
permanent Security Council seat: the former had enabled Rwanda's "genocidal regime" to influence other members with its perspective on the situation, while the latter allowed Russia "to spread lies almost daily". Those delegations planning to abstain in the vote, he said, would be showing the same indifference that failed to prevent genocide in Rwanda. In response,
Gennady Kuzmin, Russia's deputy permanent representative with responsibility for human rights issues, denounced the draft as an attempt by the United States to maintain its dominant position and to exert human rights colonialism, and he warned that his country's exclusion from the Human Rights Council could set a dangerous precedent. Addressing the allegations of abuses levelled at the Russian military, he said they were based on "staged events and widely circulated fakes". The resolution was adopted by 93 votes to 24, with 58 abstentions. This was only the second occasion on which a state's membership in the council had been suspended, following the case of
Libya in 2011 during the overthrow of
Muammar Gaddafi. Speaking after the meeting, Kuzmin described the resolution as an "illegitimate and politically motivated step" and said that Russia had already withdrawn from the Council prior to the General Assembly vote.
10–12 October 2022 The emergency special session reconvened on 10 October to discuss Russia's staged annexation referendums in the
Donetsk,
Kherson,
Luhansk and
Zaporizhzhia oblasts of Ukraine as well as the subsequent attempted annexation of these regions. The meeting was called following Russia's veto on a Security Council resolution condemning its actions. On 12 October, the General Assembly adopted
Resolution ES-11/4 declaring that the staged referendums and attempted annexation of these regions are invalid and illegal under international law. The resolution called on all members to not recognize Russia's actions and for Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine to restore its territorial integrity. The resolution was adopted with 143 countries voting in favour, 5 against and 35 abstaining, which was considered an overwhelming vote considering that it received the most votes in favour of all resolutions dealing with the Russian invasion of Ukraine so far.
14 November 2022 On 7 November 2022, a letter requesting resumption of the emergency session was submitted to the President by representatives from Canada, Guatemala, Netherlands and Ukraine for the "Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine". It was adopted by the general assembly as
Resolution ES-11/5 on 14 November 2022.
22–23 February 2023 The 18th plenary meeting of the 11th emergency special session was brought to order on 23 February 2023. The General Assembly adopted
Resolution ES-11/6 with 141 countries voting in favour, 7 against and 32 abstaining, calling for a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in Ukraine in line with the principles of the U.N. Charter and demanding that Russia withdraws all of its military forces.
24 February 2025 The emergency special session met again on 24 February 2025 and adopted
Resolution ES-11/7 by a vote of 93 in favour, 18 against and 65 abstentions.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/8 was subsequently proposed and then adopted as amended, 93 countries voting for, 8 against, 73 abstentions and 19 present not voting.
3 December 2025 The emergency special session convened on 3 December 2025 and adopted Resolution ES-11/9 by a vote of 91 in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions. The resolution demands that Russia ensures the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported.
24 February 2026 On the fourth anniversary from the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the emergency special session met on 24 February 2026 and adopted Resolution ES-11/10 by a vote of 107 in favour, 12 against and 51 abstentions. The resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all unlawfully detained persons, and the return of all internees and of civilians forcibly transferred to their country of origin. ==Resolutions==