In 24 days, it will be half a year since the military invasion by Russia began.
In the international community, differences in stances are also highlighted.
We have summarized the attitudes and support movements of each country.
Transport supplies from US military bases
The United States continues to send military supplies to Ukraine every day.
The Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the eastern part of the United States, is a base for transporting weapons and ammunition that the United States has provided to Ukraine, and on the 10th of this month, NHK was allowed to cover the base.
In the warehouse of the base, the shells of the howitzers used by the Ukrainian army for bombardment were lined up, and after the soldiers put the supplies on a special platform and packed them, they were loaded one after another on a large transport plane.
After this, the transport plane left for Ukraine's neighboring country, Poland.
According to the base, goods have been airlifted about 130 times since the start of the invasion, and are still being transported every day.
"We want to give hope to the Ukrainian people and help them as much as we can," said Col. I will."
Military assistance from the United States Approx. 1.3 trillion yen
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, since the start of the Russian military aggression, the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine so far has totaled $9.9 billion, or about 1.3 trillion yen in Japanese yen.
The Biden administration has provided military support according to the war situation while carefully choosing the weapons to be provided so as not to overstimulate Russia and lead to a conflict with the United States.
At the beginning of the invasion, weapons such as the ▽ anti-tank missile "Javelin" and the ▽ surface-to-air missile "Stinger" were provided and used in the vicinity of the capital Kyiv, etc.
After that, as the Russian military shifted its focus of operations to eastern Ukraine, it provided weapons that could attack from a long distance so that it could respond to large-scale artillery battles in open areas with few obstacles such as buildings. .
▽From April this year, a howitzer that fires large-caliber shells into enemy positions, etc., ▽From June, a high-mobility rocket artillery system called Hymers, which is said to have a longer range and is said to be capable of precise attacks. am sending.
According to the Department of Defense, so far, ▽ 59 million bullets, ▽ "Javelin" 8,500 units, ▽ "Stinger" 1,400 units, ▽ 142 howitzers, ▽ ▽ Hymers 16 units have been provided.
U.S. security expert: Ukraine cannot sustain activity without assistance
Elias Yousif of the Stimson Center, an American think tank that specializes in security, said of US military assistance, "The content and scale of the assistance to Ukraine is unprecedented, and there have been no examples of such expansion in such a short period of time. No other, it was essential in preventing the short-term victory that Russian President Vladimir Putin had initially expected.”
He added, "We have not found a clear solution to the war, and it is a war of attrition that relies on long-range artillery fire, so Ukraine needs the supply of artillery and other supplies from Western countries. We will not be able to maintain Ukraine's activities in the medium term," he said, adding that military support will continue.
Yousif also commented on trends in US public opinion regarding military aid, saying, "I think that the general public has agreed that 'this is the type of support that the United States should provide,' but the war is protracted and economic problems such as inflation Public opinion may change if such blows continue.It is important to continue the dialogue with the public on why the Biden administration should care about the war in Ukraine."
China consistently shows pro-Russian stance
China has consistently shown a pro-Russian stance since Russia invaded Ukraine.
It is pointed out that China and Russia have strengthened their relationship through repeated talks between President Xi Jinping and President Putin.
On February 4, just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, after the summit meeting held in conjunction with the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, a joint statement was issued stating that "there is no limit to the friendship between the two countries." It gave the impression of a very close relationship.
It is unknown whether China was informed of the military invasion of Ukraine in advance by Russia, but the two leaders held telephone talks on February 25 and June this year, the day after the military invasion began. At the meeting in June, they agreed to expand cooperation in the economic and military fields.
Behind China's emphasis on its relationship with Russia is that it believes that strengthening cooperation with Russia will be beneficial in order to compete with the United States in the long term.
China has criticized the United States for breaking its promise not to expand NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and continuing to expand it, which has led to the current situation in Ukraine.
Under these circumstances, the United States, Europe and other countries are strongly opposed to the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia.
On the economic front, China has indicated that it intends to continue trade with Russia as before, and imports of energy from Russia continue to increase.
China imported 7.6% more crude oil and 20.1% more liquefied natural gas from Russia last month than in the same month last year, both increasing for the fourth straight month.
On the other hand, on the military front, in May, the air forces of both countries conducted joint patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. is deepening military ties, such as announcing that it will participate.
However, China seems to want to avoid a situation in which it is subject to sanctions from the West, and is cautious about providing military assistance to Russia.
With the Communist Party Congress held once every five years ahead, and with President Xi Jinping anticipating an unprecedented continuation as party leader, China appears reluctant to take risks by mediating for a ceasefire.
Differences in positions in European countries highlighted
In Europe, the difference in stance between countries that are wary of Russia and have a clear confrontational stance and countries that rely on Russia for their energy supply and seek solutions through dialogue has become apparent. In the future, it is difficult to predict whether each country will be able to unite to support Ukraine.
Of these, the three Baltic countries and Poland, which are geographically close to Russia, have a deep-rooted sense of wariness that they may be exposed to the same military threat as Ukraine, and are rapidly moving away from their dependence on Russia for energy. Since we have been promoting it, we are in the position that we should continue to provide military support to Ukraine and face a thorough resistance.
On the other hand, Germany and Italy, which depend on Russia for much of their energy, are not just taking a hard-line stance against Russia, given that the supply of natural gas from Russia has been greatly reduced, which is having an impact on people's lives. Against the backdrop of domestic public opinion that the situation cannot be resolved, Japan is in a difficult position.
In addition, President Macron of France has not lost his stance of emphasizing dialogue with Russia, such as holding a telephone conversation with President Putin on the 20th of this month.
In Europe, there is a clear difference in the position between countries that have a clear confrontational stance toward Russia and countries that seek solutions through dialogue. It is not possible to foresee whether