CHINA

China has broken with the U.S., Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has said sanctions create new issues and threaten a political settlement of the conflict.

“No matter how perilous the international landscape, we will maintain our strategic focus and promote the development of a comprehensive China-Russia partnership in the new era,” Wang told reporters at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial parliament. “The friendship between the two peoples is iron clad,” he added.

Much attention has been paid to a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Feb. 4, after which a joint statement was issued affirming “strong mutual support for the protection of their core interests.” Russia endorsed China’s view of self-governing Taiwan as an “inalienable part of China, and opposes any forms of independence of Taiwan,” while China backed Russia in opposing the further enlargement of NATO.

China and Russia have increasingly aligned their foreign policies against the liberal Western order and their militaries have carried out exercises together and flown joint air patrols, as their relationship has taken on the trappings of an informal alliance.

NATO

"Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a careful balancing act on the part of NATO allies, who are eager to see Russia fail but also unwilling to jump into the war directly. This reflects the same challenge that has confronted the West vis-à-vis Ukraine for two decades: how to foster a sovereign Ukraine independent of Russia without necessarily inviting Kyiv into NATO or the EU.

The bottom line is that militarily, NATO will only offer limited assistance to Ukraine. Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, allies are obligated to treat an attack on one as an attack on all. But the flip side is that they are under no obligation to help countries that aren’t members of the club.

While NATO’s short-term role in Ukraine may be limited, its bigger role now is to keep Russia out of the rest of Europe. For years, many have taken for granted that Putin will stop at NATO’s borders, deterred by the promise of an Article 5 response. But this is no longer a given in light of the Russian leader’s belligerence and unpredictability."

---Yes, Russia Might Invade a NATO Country. Here’s How the Alliance Should Prepare.

by JOHN R. DENI

On February 24th, 2022, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced new plans that "will enable us to deploy capabilities and forces, including the NATO Response Force, to where they are needed". Following the invasion, NATO announced plans to increase military deployments in the Baltics, Poland, and Romania.

After a February 25th UN Security Council meeting, Stoltenberg announced that parts of the NATO Response Force would be deployed, for the first time ever, to NATO members along the Eastern border. He stated that forces would include elements of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), currently led by France.

Stoltenberg further stated that some NATO members are supplying weapons to Ukraine, including those for air defence. The US had announced on 24 February that it would be deploying 7,000 troops to join the 5,000 already in Europe.

NATO forces include the USS Harry S. Truman's Carrier Strike Group 8, which entered the Mediterranean Sea the previous week as part of a planned exercise. The carrier strike group was placed under NATO command, the first time this had occurred since the Cold War.

On February 27th, German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced 100 billion euros (US$113 billion) in new military spending, stating: "With the invasion of Ukraine, we are in a new era." German defense spending is set to rise to at least the target 2% of GDP expected of NATO members by 2024.

United Nations

As war broke out, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged Russia to immediately end aggression in Ukraine ending his call with the words: "So, if indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: President [Vladimir] Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died."

The French and US ambassadors announced that they would present a resolution to the UN Security Council on 25 February 2022. The UK, the US, Canada,and the EU labelled the attack as unprovoked and unjustified, and promised harsh sanctions on Russian individuals, businesses, and assets. On 25 February, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution "deploring, in the strongest terms, the Russian Federation's aggression", as expected. Eleven countries voted in favour, and three abstained, among them China, India, and the United Arab Emirates. On 27 February, the UN Security Council voted to hold an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly to vote on a similar resolution. The session was convened on 28 February, with speeches by members expected to last several days. During a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on 1 March, over 100 diplomats walked out in protest over a speech by Sergei Lavrov.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate halt to Russia's military action against Ukraine.[On 2 March, the UN General Assembly voted 141–5 to demand Russia stop the war and withdraw all of its military forces; 35 countries abstained, including Algeria, Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and South Africa, while Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria were Russia's sole supporters. Russia's UN representative said that the adoption of the resolution could fuel further violence.

European Union

On 27 February, the EU agreed to purchase weapons for Ukraine collectively. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated that it would purchase €450 million (US$502 million) in lethal assistance and an additional €50 million ($56 million) in non-lethal supplies. Borrell said that EU defence ministers still needed to determine the details of how to purchase the materiel and transfer it to Ukraine, but that Poland had agreed to act as a distribution hub. Borrell also stated that they intended to supply Ukraine with fighter jets that they are already able to pilot. These would not be paid for through the €450 million assistance package. Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia had MiG-29s and Slovakia also had Su-25s, which were fighter jets that Ukraine already flew and could be transferred without pilot training.

On 1 March, Poland, Slovakia, and Bulgaria confirmed they would not provide fighter jets to Ukraine, but on March 6 the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated that NATO members were continuing to discuss a Polish fighter aircraft transfer.

On 26 February, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he had authorised $350 million in lethal military assistance, including "anti-armor and anti-aircraft systems, small arms and various caliber munitions, body armor, and related equipment". Russia stated that US drones gave intelligence to the Ukrainian navy to help target its warships in the Black Sea, which the US denied. On 27 February, Portugal announced that it would send H&K G3 automatic rifles and other military equipment. Sweden and Denmark both decided to send 5,000 and 2,700 anti-tank weapons, respectively, to Ukraine. Denmark also provided parts from 300 non-operational Stinger missiles, that the US would first help make operational.[285] Turkey also provided TB2 drones.

The Norwegian government, after initially saying it would not send weapons to Ukraine but would send other military equipment like helmets and protective gear, announced on 28 February that it would also donate up to 2,000 M72 LAW anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. In a similarly major policy shift for a neutral country, Finland announced that it would send 2,500 assault rifles together with 150,000 rounds, 1,500 single-shot anti-tank weapons and 70,000 combat-ration packages, to add to the bulletproof vests, helmets, and medical supplies already announced.

Finland and Sweden

During the Cold War, Finland and Sweden had remained neutral buffer states between NATO and the USSR. To retain their neutral status, both states minimised their cooperation with NATO. Following the Fall of Communism, both states increased their cooperation with NATO, while stoutly retaining their neutral status.Throughout the Cold War and the post-Communism era, majorities in both countries opposed joining NATO; however, with the increasing threat of Russia in the second decade of the 21st century, support for joining had begun to climb.

As Russia began to build forces on Ukraine's border in the leadup to their invasion, both countries increased their cooperation with NATO.

On 25 February, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova threatened Finland and Sweden with "military and political consequences" if they attempted to join NATO, despite their ongoing commitment to neutrality. Both countries had attended the emergency NATO summit as members of NATO's Partnership for Peace, and both had condemned the invasion and had provided assistance to Ukraine. A public petition asking the Parliament of Finland to hold a referendum to join NATO reached the required 50,000 signatures, prompting a parliamentary discussion on 1 March. Finnish public opinion on joining NATO shifted after the invasion, with 53% in favour in the most recent poll compared to 30% in January. Swedish public opinion saw a similar shift, with 51% in favour in the most recent poll compared to 42% in January.