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Support for Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine has come from countries such as Belarus, North Korea, China, and Iran.

Belarus

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has supported Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Before the start of the offensive, Belarus allowed the Russian Armed Forces to perform weeks-long military drills on its territory; the Russian troops did not leave Belarus after the drills were supposed to finish. Belarus allowed Russia to stage part of the invasion from its territory, giving Russia the shortest-possible land route to Ukraine's capital Kyiv. The Russian forces withdrew within two months, ending land-based military operations originating from Belarus and resulting in Ukraine's recapture of territory on its side of the Ukraine/Belarus border. Despite this, the situation along the border remained tense; Ukraine closed the border checkpoints leading into Belarus, bar special cases.

Belarus initially denied involvement with the conflict but has since said it allowed Russian missile launchers stationed on its territory to shoot at Ukrainian targets. Several reports from the Belarusian opposition and Armed Forces of Ukraine said Belarusian troops were fighting with Russians in Ukraine but Belarus's leader Aleksander Lukashenko dismissed them and said the Belarusian Armed Forces (BAF) would not directly participate in the conflict. As of early 2023, the BAF had not been involved in fighting against Ukraine and had remained within Belarus during the conflict. Lukashenko stated he would not send soldiers into Ukraine unless attacked first.

According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, Lukashenko assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the start of the invasion he would not to involve his nation's armed forces on the side of Russia. In early 2023, Lukashenko stated Ukraine had offered to formalize this arrangement with a non-aggression pact.

The involvement of Belarus was condemned in Western countries; the EU, the US, the UK, Canada, and Japan imposed sanctions against Belarus. According to Chatham House, Belarus's participation in the military conflict is unpopular among the general population; protests were held on 27 February, the day of the constitutional referendum that asked the populace to revoke Belarus's non-nuclear-country status, but were quickly dispersed. Hackers targeted Belarusian government agencies and the country's critical infrastructure with the aim of disrupting the Russian war effort in Belarus.

In the early days of the invasion, Belarus was also involved in peace initiatives, holding Russo-Ukrainian talks on its border. Despite some preliminary agreements, the talks did not result in a lasting ceasefire.

Belarusian territory has also been used to launch missiles into Ukraine.

Iran

Amirabad Port, Iran, has been identified as a source of materiel that was shipped northward across the Caspian Sea to the Port of Astrakhan. The Russian-flagged ships Musa Jalil and Begey carried 200 containers of materiel to Russia in a €140-million cash transaction from 10 January 2023, arriving in Astrakhan on 2 February 2023.

Iran has sent to Russia thousands of HESA Shahed 136 drones; Russia has little-to-no domestic UAV industry. Russia plans to build new industrial plants in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone to allow it to produce domestic its own Shahed 136 and Shahed 131 drones, leasing the design from Iran and hoping to produce 6,000 Shahed drones per year by 2025. Russian domestic production has encountered several problems, such as a lack of semiconductors and circuitry required to produce the drones. As of 17 August 2023, the Alabuga Shahed production plant had enough materials to produce 300 drones; Russia domestically produces only four of the 130 necessary components.

France, Germany, and Britain condemned Iran for transferring ballistic missiles to Russia and announced plans to cancel their bilateral air services agreements with Iran, along with pursuing sanctions against Iran Air. This response came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that Russia had received Iranian ballistic missiles, which could be used in the Ukraine conflict within weeks. The three countries described the missile transfer as an escalation by Iran and Russia, threatening European security, and urged Iran to stop supporting Russia. Britain also imposed sanctions on Russian cargo ships involved in transporting military supplies from Iran and targeted individuals linked to Iran's missile and drone supply chains.

North Korea

North Korea has denied any support for Russia and its war against Ukraine, saying any claims to the contrary are efforts to "tarnish the image of the DPRK". According to the Lowy Institute, these statements maintain North Korea's posturing in their "power-for-power" policy against the United States and South Korea. US intelligence and satellite imaging reported Russia and North Korea are engaged in a "Food for Arms" trade policy, under which Russia exports grain—mostly plundered from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine—in exchange for North Korean small arms, artillery, and ammunition. Russia had lifted most or all of its sanctions against North Korea, including its gas embargo, since the start of the war. North Korea has also offered diplomatic support for Russia; General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Jong Un publicly stated North Korea would "always stand in the same trench, together with the army and the people of Russia". On Russia Day 2023, Kim offered his country's "full support and solidarity to the Russian people in their all-out struggle for implementing the sacred cause to preserve the sovereign rights, development and interests of their country against the imperialists' high-handed and arbitrary practices". North Korea has also issued support for the Russian government during the Wagner Group rebellion and blamed the war in Ukraine on the US's "hegemonic policy".

On 27 July 2023, during North Korea's 70th celebration of its Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was received in Pyongyang to join the military parade. This was the first time a Russian defense minister had visited North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. During his visit, Shoigu and Kim promised closer military cooperation between the two countries, and Kim showed Shoigu North Korean nuclear missiles. Afterward, Shoigu and Kim toured a weapons exhibition, as Russia seeks to outfit its declining supplies with North Korean weaponry and ammunition.

On 1 November 2024, North Korean minister of foreign affairs Choe Son-hui visited Moscow, she said that Kim Jong Un have already ordered to firmly and non-hesitantly give strong supports to Russian army and people since its invasion of Ukraine, she also told Russian minister of foreign affairs Sergei Lavrov that North Korea will stand with Russians until its victory.

China

Russia is buying dual-use technology such as body armor, thermal imaging sensors, and commercial drones from China. In February 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that according to Russian customs data, Chinese companies have shipped dual-use items such as navigation equipment, jamming technology, and fighter jet parts to Russian state-owned companies. The same month, Der Spiegel reported that Xi'an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology was in talks to sell "kamikaze drones" to Russia. The New York Times subsequently reported that Poly Technologies sent sufficient quantities of gunpower to the Barnaul Cartridge Plant to make 80 million rounds of ammunition. China is a key supplier of nitrocellulose, a key ingredient for modern gunpowder, to Russia.

Politico reported in March 2023 that Chinese state-owned weapons manufacturer Norinco shipped assault rifles, drone parts, and body armor to Russia between June and December 2022, with some shipments via third countries including Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. According to the United States, Chinese ammunition has been used on battlefields in Ukraine. In May 2023, the European Union identified that Chinese firms were supplying weapon components to Russia. In 2023, Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant began manufacturing kamikaze drones for the Russian military using Chinese engines and parts. In April 2024, China was reported to have supplied Russia with geospatial intelligence, machine tools for tanks, and propellants for missiles. The same month, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) reported that a sanctioned Russian ship transferring weapons from North Korea to Russia was moored at a Chinese shipyard in Zhejiang.

On 6 April 2024, Janet Yellen warned China of "significant consequences" if its companies continues to "support Russia's war against Ukraine." In a meeting with local authorities and in a bilateral with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Yellen highlighted that companies including those in the PRC , must not assist Russia in its war against Ukraine. The same month, the US sanctioned a Chinese company for supporting Russia's military through the procurement, development, and proliferation of Russian drones. In July 2024, NATO called China a "decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine" and called on it to cease its support for Russia's military.

In October 2024, a Western official informed Sky News that there was "clear evidence" of Chinese companies supplying military attack drones to Russia for the Ukraine conflict, marking a potential first in complete weapons systems delivered from China. This development raised alarm for Kyiv and its Western allies, further escalating tensions between Beijing and the West. NATO called the allegations "deeply concerning" and stated that member nations were discussing the situation. The Chinese embassy in London stated it was unaware of the specifics but emphasized that China strictly controlled military exports. NATO emphasized that China must prevent its companies from providing lethal assistance to Russia, warning that continued support could harm China's interests and reputation.

Myanmar

In June 2023, Russia was suspected of buying back military supplies it earlier shipped to Myanmar and India.

In July 2023, Russian armed forces were seen using 120 mm mortar rounds that were manufactured in Myanmar. Sources in Myanmar's government told The Irrawaddy Russia was using mortar rounds manufactured by the Myanmar Directorate of Defence Industries, and that the Myanmar government was supplying mortar rounds to Russia.

Sanction circumvention through third countries

Since the outbreak of the invasion, Maldives has offered refuge to Russian tourists and oligarchs, allowing and increasing Russian tourist flights into the country. Maldives' economy is dependent on tourism and has rejected cutting ties to Russian tourists.

In 2022, 400,000 US-made semiconductors worth $53.6 million were shipped to Russia via Maldives, accounting for almost 20% of Maldives's exports. Maldives has no native semiconductor manufacturers; all of its exports are the results of Russian shell companies operating in Maldives. These companies import semiconductors into the country and re-exported them to Russia to circumvent semiconductor sanctions. Most of these shell companies are headquartered in Hong Kong; Maldives, a member of the Belt and Road Initiative, was closening its relationship with China.

From 2015 to 2021, average trade between Russia and Turkey in 45 military-linked materials was $28 million per year; the figure in 2022 was over $52.6 million; and from January to October 2023 was $158 million.

References

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