Which countries are allies of Russia and which of Ukraine?

Expert analyzes military arsenal used by Russia in Ukraine 7:18 (CNN in Spanish) — The population of Ukraine has been subjected to intense bombardment for almost two months while fighting on the ground continues against Russian forces, who invaded the country on December 24 February after President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in his territory after months of tensions in anticipation of an invasion. But who are the allies that each party has in the face of this invasion? Ukraine’s allies Ukraine has been moving progressively closer to the West in recent decades, stating on different occasions its intentions to join the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Kyiv managed to sign a trade association agreement with the EU in 2014, and although it has not advanced in a possible entry into the EU or NATO in the face of strong Russian pressure, it has approached both organizations and especially Germany, France and USA. Shortly after the Russian attack became known, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, spoke specifically of the United States’ support for his country. “A minute ago I had a conversation with President Biden. The US has already begun to rally international support,” he said. This is how the Russian people speak 1:52In the following days, the United States and Europe launched an unprecedented battery of sanctions against Russia, and numerous NATO countries, including the US, UK and Germany, intensified their arms shipments that have been key to the Ukrainian war effort. But they were not the only ones to supply weapons to Ukraine. The Czech Republic sent tanks, Slovakia S-300 air defense systems and Australia armored vehicles, among others. Those who have shown their support, and those who have not Without becoming partners or allies, most of the international community has shown its support for Ukraine and rejected the Russian invasion. On March 2, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution (A/RES/ES-11/1) that reaffirms support for the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, considers Russian aggression “deplorable” and demands that Russia cease the use of force and withdraw their troops. It was approved with 141 votes in favor, 5 against and 35 abstentions. The long list of countries that voted in favor can be found here. While the five votes against come from Russia, Belarus and Syria (Russia’s allies), North Korea and Eritrea. Who abstained? Angola, Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burundi, China, Congo, Cuba, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Central African Republic, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. While Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela were absent. Kazakhstan, which abstained, and Uzbekistan, which was absent and is a prominent partner of Russia, have nevertheless announced that they will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Reuters reported. So did Azerbaijan, absent in the vote, by sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, according to the country’s state news agency. But it did not stop there. In early April, the General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. The result of the vote was 93 in favor and 24 against, while 58 abstained. Russia and its partners The government of President Vladimir Putin has only one major ally in the region: Aleksandr Lukashenko’s Belarus. In fact, a large number of Russian soldiers have been deployed on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in recent months. There have been reports of Belarus possibly sending forces to fight in the war, which have not been confirmed, but Minsk did surprise the world by changing its status as a country without nuclear weapons, just days after the invasion. Outside the region, Russia maintains a close relationship with China, a country with which they usually act in coordination before the United Nations and with whom they proclaimed last month that their friendship “has no limits.” Beijing has so far offered no support for Moscow’s actions, but has also not questioned them and said it would start importing Russian wheat, a move that could ease the impact of Western sanctions on Russia. However, the war has been beginning to affect the relationship, and in recent days China has been quietly distancing itself from Russia, fearing it will be affected by the numerous sanctions imposed against Moscow. In Latin America, Russia cultivates strong ties with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. While in the Middle East Moscow has maintained a significant presence in Syria since 2015, devastated by civil war, and in support of President Bashar al-Aassad. In fact, many of the Russian soldiers participating in the invasion of Ukraine have experience fighting in Syria — including General Andrei Sukhovetsky, who was recently killed in combat — and Russian state media showed images of alleged Syrian volunteers preparing to travel to Ukraine to fight for Moscow.