By invading ukraine, Vladimir Putin has divided the world. The West and its allies have presented a rare unified front against the Russian president’s attack. NATO is enjoying a surge of support within its member countries (and wannabe joiners). The EU has projected the role of a first-rate power. And co-ordinated efforts, including sanctions and banking restrictions, have punished Russia’s economy, at least in the short term. But from other countries Russia still enjoys some support. The Economist Intelligence Unit, our sister company, has measured government actions globally since the war broke out, and countries’ historical ties with Russia, to divide the world into three broad categories: governments that are West-leaning, Russia-leaning and neutral amid the conflict. Show A total of 131 countries are against Russia, according to the analysis. Most rich ones in North America and Europe fall into this club. Even historically neutral governments, such as those in Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, have taken a decisive stance against the invasion. According to the EIU, the West-leaning camp accounts for more than 70% of the world’s GDP. But together the countries opposing Russia account for only 36% of the world’s population. Around two-thirds of people live in countries whose governments are either neutral or Russian-leaning. China and India, which together account for around one-third of the global population, skew the results. The Chinese government, classified as Russia-leaning by the EIU, has avoided direct condemnation of Mr Putin’s actions and is unlikely to stand with the West. India’s government, classed as neutral, has increased its engagement with the Russian government, especially through discounted oil prices.  It is not just the governments of these hugely populous countries that are neutral or Russia-leaning. According to a survey in India conducted by YouGov, a pollster, in March, 40% of respondents approved of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fifty-four per cent of those polled approved of Mr Putin’s leadership (compared with 63% who approved of Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president). No such data have been collected in China but online polls indicate greater support for Russia. About 30% of the global population live in the 28 countries whose governments are classed by the EIU as leaning towards Russia. As well as China, these include such populous places as Pakistan and Ethiopia. For some, such as Eritrea and Syria, Russia is a key ally. Thirty-two governments have remained neutral, including Bangladesh’s, Brazil’s and India’s. Several developing countries see neutrality as the default foreign-policy choice, a legacy of the non-aligned movement formed during the cold war as a counterbalance against the world’s polarisation into two blocs. Mr Putin’s campaign in Ukraine has met widespread condemnation in the West. Recent evidence of war crimes could see Russia lose further support internationally. But for now by no means does everyone regard him, and his country, as pariahs. ■ For a look behind the scenes of our data journalism, sign up to Off the Charts, our weekly newsletter. Our recent coverage of the Ukraine crisis can be found here. Russia's invasion of Ukraine: How US sanctions could affect you The Biden administration announced sanctions on Russia for military escalation against Ukraine. Here's what that means. Few countries have offered support to Russia after President Vladimir Putin announced plans to invade Ukraine. The sounds of explosions were heard in major cities in Ukraine after Russia attacked the country early Thursday and dozens of people have been killed and injured, said Oleksii Arestovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. President Joe Biden condemned the "unprovoked and unjustified attack" late Wednesday and said “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson followed the same sentiment and tweeted he was "appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine." The U.S. and its allies have spoken out about the actions of Putin, Russia's longtime president, but what about countries with strong relationships with the Kremlin? UKRAINE UPDATES: Get the latest news on the Russia-Ukraine crisis delivered to your inbox ChinaChina called for peace between the two countries and said the U.S. and its allies were worsening the conflict. “China is closely following the latest developments,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily briefing. “We still hope that the parties concerned will not shut the door to peace and engage instead in dialogue and consultation and prevent the situation from further escalating,” The relationship between China and Russia has grown over the past few decades, and the two nations opposed a further expansion of NATO. 'A tragedy': World leaders react to the Russian invasion of Ukraine 'Brutal act of war': Photos of Russia invading Ukraine show mass evacuations, rockets "When expanding NATO eastward five times to the vicinity of Russia and deploying advanced offensive strategic weapons in breach of its assurances to Russia, did the US ever think about the consequence of pushing a big country to the wall?" Chunying tweeted on Wednesday.
BelarusBelarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said the country would use nuclear weapons and more as conflict escalated against its ally Russia, according to AFP. "If such stupid and mindless steps are taken by our rivals and opponents, we will deploy not only nuclear weapons, but super-nuclear and up-and-coming ones to protect our territory," Lukashenko said last week.
The Foreign Ministry of Belarus said it saw Putin's move to recognize the independence of rebel-held areas in Ukraine "with respect and understanding." What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day CNN reported Russian military troops entering Ukraine from the Belarus border early Thursday morning after the two nations conducted joint military exercises across the countries in recent weeks. Other countriesOther Russian allies and neighboring countries like Armenia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijani have remained quiet in light of the country's attack. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not comment on the conflict while visiting Moscow to speak with Putin on bilateral relations. Officials in Kazakhstan also remained quiet on the growing conflict and Moscow’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk. Contributing: The Associated Press Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: . Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Iran next week in the hope of securing economic and military backing in the wake of Western sanctions. Iran has not officially allied itself with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February, but the US government said Iran is set to provide Russia with missile-launching drones and training for troops to use them. According to The New York Times, Russia has been lacking “a sufficient number of reconnaissance and combat drones” which would enable it to hit more specific targets in Ukraine. Putin will meet independently with President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran next week as well as jointly with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a Nato member. All three nations have previously held talks about ending the civil war in Syria, in which Russia and Iran have backed President Bashar al-Assad and Turkey has backed opposition fighters. Russia will also be seeking a way around Western sanctions, say Anton Troianovski and Farnaz Fassihi in The New York Times, something Iran has experience in achieving. Iran has become an expert in “navigating economic sanctions imposed by the United States” and is well placed to help Russia circumvent them and provide routes by which goods from Russia can travel. The level of Iranian military support for Russia “remains unclear” despite the US insistence that weapons have already been sent. Iran says its “cooperation” with Russia hasn’t increased since the Ukraine war began and pre-dates the conflict. While Iran’s alliance with Russia is still uncertain, some nations have already given clearer indications that they are backing Moscow. Although it has not officially entered the war, Belarus has openly backed Russia since it invaded Ukraine and has been hit with sanctions as a result. President Alexander Lukashenko retains close ties with Putin and sent troops to Belarus’s border with Ukraine in May this year and has also “engaged in military exercises” with Russia. Advertisement - Article continues below While former Soviet states like Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have escaped Russian sway and joined Nato, Belarus remains “tightly under Moscow’s influence”, wrote Becky Sullivan in NPR. Putin has “called in the favour” since supporting Lukashenko during civil unrest in Belarus following the 2020 election. Syria is another of Russia’s closest allies and President Assad has already recruited soldiers for the war in Ukraine. Martin Chulov described it in The Guardian as a “lethal price for Moscow’s rescue of the Syrian leader” during its civil war and Putin has “rarely wasted an opportunity to assert his dominance” over the Syrian president. China has officially remained neutral during the conflict and has demonstrated that by abstaining in UN resolutions concerning Russia and Ukraine. At the start of the conflict, it said the US was creating “fear and panic” that were heightening tensions. Despite its outwardly neutral position, President Xi Jinping is “bound” to Russia’s success in the war, wrote Jane Perlez in The New York Times. China “fears being isolated without a viable Russia at its side” and the worst outcome would be a “pro-Western government in Moscow”. Though China has not explicitly provided military support to Russia, it has been openly critical of the West’s financial sanctions and has increased its trade with Russia. The BBC reported that in the first month of the conflict China’s trade with Russia increased 12% compared to the year before, while its crude oil imports from Russia in May rose by 55% year on year, according to Reuters. |
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