SUNDAY, APRIL 10 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A23
war in ukraine
most of the Russian economy and
then threaten anyone who trades
with Russian companies with be-
ing cut off from the dollar system.
I think there are good political
reasons why he wouldn’t,” Coates
added.What countries are supplying
Ukraine with military aid?
Though Russia’s military
strength is considered to be far
larger than Ukraine’s, its small
neighbor has received a signifi-
cant boost in the form of dona-
tions of weapons and other mili-
tary equipment.
According to tracking from
Jane’s, an open-source defense
intelligence provider, 32 coun-
tries had provided Ukraine with
military equipment by March 30.
This equipment ranged from fuel
and field rations to anti-armor
weapons such as the U.S.-made
Javelin and the British-madeNLAW.
There is no rush to supply
Russia, in part because it has its
own well-developed defense in-
dustry and produces much of its
own weaponry. Though there
have been some reports that Rus-
sia asked China for help with
military supplies, there is no
evidence that Beijing provided
any serious assistance, according
to Siemon Wezeman, a senior
researcher at the Stockholm In-
ternational Peace Research Insti-
tute.
Chinese equipment going to
Russia appeared to be “simple
communication systems of the
type that you can get from the
shop around the corner or Aliba-
ba,” Wezeman said.
Belarus, a key ally of Russia,
may have provided some fuel or
food to Russian forces, but it was
likely not significant in scale,
Wezeman added.ANDREY RUDAKOV/BLOOMBERG NEWSThe Grand Kremlin Palace, left, and the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow in February. Only one part of the world has been
willing to condemn the Kremlin and its leader, President Vladimir Putin, with much of the rest acting more like business as usual.
Sources: United Nations, Castellum.AI THE WASHINGTON POST141 countries initially voted in support of Ukraine at
the U.N.resolution that called on Russia to withdraw all of its forces from
Ukraine.
Absent Abstain Against In FavorHowever, the countries that voted to abstain, including China and
India, account for over half of the population represented at the
United Nations.Percentage of total population42% 52%93 countries voted to remove Russia from U.N. Human
Rights CouncilRussia lost its membership on the top human rights body, but it
had more support than in previous General Assembly votes.Absent Abstain Against In Favorfrom abstaining on votes related to the invasion of Ukraine to
supporting Russia.Percentage of total population
24% 28% 46%7 countries have imposed sanctions on Russia since
Feb. 22sanctions on Russia, the 27-nation European Union has imposed
sanctions as a bloc.E.U. sanctions
National sanctions
SanctionedBY ADAM TAYLORAs a consequence of its inva-
sion of Ukraine, Russia has be-
come isolated. In a matter of
weeks, it went from a highly
integrated economy to one of the
world’s most heavily sanctioned
countries, and governments are
going so far as to subvert long-
standing policies and traditions
to pour weapons and other
equipment into Ukraine.
Members of the U.N. General
Assembly twice voted to con-
demn the Russian invasion. Only
a handful of countries, including
pariah states such as North Korea
and Eritrea, sided with Russia.
On Thursday, the General As-
sembly went further, voting to
remove Russia from the U.N.
Human Rights Council. It was
only the second time in the coun-
cil’s history that one of its 47
members has been suspended,
following Libya’s ouster in 2011.
But the act of isolating Russia
is not a true global trend. Though
the United States, the European
Union and other allies have im-
posed sanctions on Russian oli-
garchs and armed enemies of the
Kremlin, most of the world’s pop-
ulation lives in countries that
have not.
Even in the United Nations
votes, condemners did not repre-
sent a majority of the global
population — abstainers and sup-
porters of Russia did.
The result is a bifurcated inter-
national story, with only one part
of the world condemning the
Kremlin and its leader, Russian
President Vladimir Putin, and
much of the other side acting
more like business as usual.
How isolated is Russia at the
U.N. General Assembly?
Russia has been the subject of
three General Assembly votes
since its invasion of Ukraine. In
each case, the majority of voting
U.N. members came down
against it.
On March 2, 141 of the General
Assembly’s 193 members voted in
support of a resolution that con-
demned Russia’s invasion and
demanded complete withdrawal.
The resolution, which had
been sponsored by more than 90
countries, easily reached the two-
thirds majority needed to pass.
Only five countries voted against
it — Belarus, Eritrea, North Ko-
rea, Syria and, of course, Russia.
U.N. Secretary General
António Guterres, speaking to
reporters afterward, said that the
message was clear: “End hostili-
ties in Ukraine now.”
In a second vote on March 24,
140 countries came out in sup-
port of a similar resolution. The
same five countries voted
against.
Such resolutions are nonbind-
ing, though they can often reflect
the weight of public opinion. But
while the vast majority of coun-
tries voted in favor, many large
nations — including giants India
and China — abstained. Together,
these countries represented the
majority of the world’s popula-
tion.
A third vote was held on April
7, after fresh allegations about
civilian deaths in Ukraine, re-
garding Russia’s membership on
the Human Rights Council. The
General Assembly voted 93 to 24
to suspend Russia from the body,
with 58 abstentions.
Unlike the other votes at the
General Assembly, this one had a
real impact, though it was limit-
ed: Membership on the council is
temporary, with three-year terms
by regional groupings. Russia’s
term would have ended later this
year.
Richard Gowan, U.N. director
at the International Crisis Group,
said that the results of the vote
were better for the West than
many expected, and that some
U.S. and European diplomats had
thought they might pick up only
60 votes in favor. One major
factor is likely the impact of
evidence of alleged Russian
atrocities in Bucha and other
recently occupied Russian towns
published this past week.“We always knew that coun-
tries that were willing to con-
demn Russia rhetorically would
think twice about backing any
sort of concrete penalty for Mos-
cow,” Gowan said, adding that
some countries, including China,
were concerned about the prec-
edent being set.How isolated is Russia at the
U.N. Security Council?
Russia is one of five permanent
members of the U.N. Security
Council, the only body at the
United Nations that has the au-
thority to issue binding resolu-
tions on member states or au-
thorize international sanctions
and military action.
Though it can have up to 15
members at any one time, only
the five permanent members
have veto power. Some analysts
have suggested that Russia could
lose its veto if it had its creden-
tials rescinded, though at the
time of writing the idea had little
momentum.
Russia used its veto on Feb. 25
to block a draft resolution that
called for Russia to end the war in
Ukraine. Eleven other countries
voted in support of the resolu-
tion, but China, India and the
United Arab Emirates abstained.
China also supported a draft
resolution submitted by Russia
on March 23. Though the text
called for civilian protection in
Ukraine, the draft was widely
viewed as an attempt to justify
Russian military intervention in
Ukraine, and 13 other Security
Council members abstained,
meaning it was not adopted.
Gowan said that so far, most
Russian acts on the Security
Council have fallen flat. But the
country could use its veto to
block action on issues not related
to Ukraine if it wished to hinder
the body.Which countries have
imposed sanctions on
Russia?
By some measures, Russia has
become the most sanctioned
country in the world. These eco-
nomic punishments have impact-
ed the Russian economy, with the
ruble plunging and panickedscenes at banks and supermar-
kets increasing.
Important is not only the scale
of sanctions, but also their depth.
The United States had imposed
sanctions on Russia’s central
bank and imposed export con-
trols on not only Russia, but also
its partner Belarus.
However, only a relatively
small number of countries have
imposed sanctions on Russia —
just seven national governments
have done so, along with the
European Union, which imposed
sanctions as a bloc.
The limited spread of these
sanctions is partially due to prac-
ticalities — Russia can veto any
U.N. sanctions proposed at the
Security Council. But the chunk
of the global economy covered by
the countries punishing Russia is
huge and a reflection of the
combined financial might of the
United States and the European
Union.
“Although the E.U. and the U.S.
and its allies are a minority,” they
have “the majority of the eco-
nomic wealth,” said Ben Coates, a
historian at Wake Forest Univer-
sity. “So in that sense, is it really
important if, say, Tanzania con-
tinues to trade with the Russian
economy?”
In fact, just looking at gross
domestic product, a statistic that
tracks economic output, under-
sells the impact of sanctions. Key
aspects of global finance, from
the U.S. dollar to the Belgium-
based Society for Worldwide In-
terbank Financial Telecommuni-
cation (SWIFT) messaging sys-
tem, are effectively controlled by
these countries.
As U.N. sanctions were effec-
tively blocked by the threat of a
Russian veto, the United States
and its allies were trying to run
“international policy except with-
out international institutions,”
Coates said. However, there re-
mained significant loopholes, as
Russian energy exports remained
largely exempt from sanctions.
The United States has so far
also avoided using secondary
sanctions, which would not pun-
ish Russia directly but would
punish its international partners.
“Biden could sanction all orHow far does the isolation of Russia extend?
Condemners in U.N.
don’t represent majority
of global populationS0137-6x4wapo.st/medicalmysteriesRead “Medical Mysteries,” Tuesdays in Health & Science.She had a loud, nonstop
crunching noise in her head...