Ukraine is asking east Asia for more support in the fight against Russia

Even though there’s some distance between east Asia and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, that isn’t stopping Ukraine from putting some pressure on them to oppose Russia.

So far, China hasn’t put sanctions on Russia because of their close ties. But, at least if you ask Ukraine, it wants China to play a more “noticeable role” in the situation.

Japan was quicker to put sanctions in place, but Zelenskiy said in a speech on Wednesday that it has to do more, saying that it needed to “stop the tsunami of brutal invasion.” (This continues his streak of quoting relevant stories in local places, including Churchill in the UK and invoking 9-11 in the US.)

Key comments:

“To stop the tsunami of brutal invasion, trade with Russia must be banned and companies must leave the Russian market so that money is not spent on the Russian military,” Zelenskiy said in a speech to Japanese lawmakers, earning a standing ovation.

“So far we’ve seen China’s neutral position. And, as I said before, we believe that China is one of the most potent global leaders,” said Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskiy’s office, to a virtual news conference organized by the Chatham House think-tank in London. “It should play a more noticeable role in bringing this war to an end and in building up a new global security system.”

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