Russia Vetoes, China Abstains on U.N. Resolution on Crimea

Russia vetoed a Western-backed resolution condemning the Crimea referendum at a U.N. Security Council emergency vote Saturday but China abstained, isolating Moscow further on the Ukraine crisis.

The draft resolution, which says Sunday's referendum would have no validity, got 13 votes in the 15-member council. But it was rejected when permanent member Russia exercised its veto.

"Russia isolated, alone and wrong blocked the resolution's passage," U.S. ambassador Samantha Power told the Council at its seventh emergency session on Ukraine since the crisis began.

"This is a sad and remarkable moment," she said.

"As we speak, Russian armed forces are massing across Ukraine's eastern border," she added in a short speech.

China often backs Russia at the council, especially on Syria-related votes, and Western diplomats had seen its abstention as the best possible outcome from Saturday's vote.

When the Security Council ruled on a similar international crisis, between Russia and Georgia in 2008, Beijing abstained.

Saturday's emergency meeting was called at Washington's request and the resolution had been drafted by the United States in very measured terms so that it could be accepted by Beijing.

The resolution declared that the referendum on Crimea coming under Kremlin rule has "no validity and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of Crimea."

Meanwhile, Russia said it was receiving "many requests" to protect people in Ukraine and would consider them.

"Russia is receiving many requests to protect peaceful citizens" in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said in a statement. "These requests will be considered."

"Militants including from Pravy Sektor are continuing to behave in an outrageous manner," it said, referring to the radical Right Sector group whose members were at the forefront of last month's protests that ended in the ouster of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych.

"We are getting alarming reports that a column with armed mercenaries from the Right Sector... has left Kharkov for Donetsk and Lugansk," the ministry said, referring to Russian-speaking cities in eastern Ukraine.