Close Russian allies Belarus, Nicaragua, Syria, North Korea, Eritrea and Mali voted on February 23 against a non-binding United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution calling on Moscow to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces.
This document was supported by 141 countries, while 32 abstained.
Venezuela could not vote because it was denied that right due to unpaid obligations to the world organization in the amount of 40 million dollars.
These countries, like Russia, have authoritarian regimes. According to the 2020 Cato Institute (Cato) Human Freedom Index, Russia ranks 115th in the world out of 194 countries. Belarus is in 99th place, and Syria is among the ten most unfree countries in the world.
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North Korea and Eritrea, both one-party dictatorships, are not ranked at all.
Belarus
Belarus and Russia share a border and also have important economic and political ties, and 48 percent of Belarus' foreign trade is with Russia.
Belarus depends on the import of Russian energy products at preferential prices. On the other hand, from Belarus, the Suvalki Corridor leads to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
It is about a 65 kilometer long strip of land on the border between Poland and Lithuania.
The well-known magazine "Politico" (Politico) called the Suvalki Corridor the most dangerous place on the planet, because the third world war could start there because of its strategic importance for Russia and NATO.
Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus, has been accused of human rights violations for suppressing the press and allowing his army to participate in joint exercises with Russian troops in Belarus.
Belarus' role in the previous invasion has already resulted in sanctions from Britain and the EU.
Russia and Belarus formed an alliance in 1997 as a supranational formation with the aim of deepening ties and cooperation. Recently, there has been talk of the unification of the two countries.
Syria
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine and condemned Western "hysteria".
Assad said that the events in Ukraine are "correcting history and restoring the balance that was lost in the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union."
Official Damascus has been a staunch ally of Moscow since Russia launched a military campaign in Syria in 2015 that helped turn the tide of the civil war in favor of the Assad regime, with a massive aerial bombardment of opposition-held areas.
North Korea
North Korea condemns the "hegemonic policy" and "arbitrariness" of the US and the West as a whole.
North Korea's foreign ministry said last year that the West was guilty of "abuse of power".
"The root cause of the Ukrainian crisis lies entirely in the hegemonic policy of the US and the West due to the abuse of power against other countries," according to official Pyongyang.
Russia plays a significant role in protecting North Korea from punitive measures by the international community.
Moscow has repeatedly blocked a UN Security Council statement against North Korea over its missile tests.
The relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang will probably continue to strengthen as Russia tries to question American foreign policy, and China is becoming more and more frustrated with the actions of this "rogue state", assesses "Business Insider".
Eritreas
Eritrea is a one-party state ruled by Isias Afwerki. He has never held an election since coming to power in 1993.
The human rights record in this East African country is regularly rated among the worst in the world, with virtually no freedom of the press and 10.000 political prisoners who are often subjected to torture.
Eritrea has been the target of international sanctions, but Russia has often opposed those measures.
Russia is also considering building a military base in the Horn of Africa country to strengthen its foothold on the continent.
Mali
Unlike previous resolutions last year when it abstained, the African country of Mali on Thursday was against the UN document condemning Russia.
The 2012-2013 war in Mali against jihadist groups exposed the fragility of the regime and its military.
And while the French military won the war against jihadist groups, personal insecurity continued to prevail in northern Mali, spreading to several regions in the center of the country.
Local groups blamed Paris for this, portraying its alleged colonial approach as the root cause of Mali's dire situation.
A group that advocated cooperation with Russia – "Groupe des Patriotes du Mali" (Patriots of Mali) – appeared on the scene in 2017. Although its origins are certainly local, Moscow was quick to notice, according to an analysis by the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv.
After two coups that overthrew the democratically elected government, Mali became isolated from its traditional allies in West Africa, and a diplomatic rift with France led to the withdrawal of its troops from the country.
But Russia stood by Mali, voting against the UN Security Council's efforts to impose sanctions on the country, so it is now its closest ally.
In 2014, Mali voted for the UN resolution condemning Russia's annexation of Crimea, but the current change of position is a sign of his new relationship with Russia and the enormous influence that Moscow's envoys had there, including the activities of the Wagner mercenary group, according to London's Chatam House ).
Nikaragva
Since Daniel Ortega returned to head Nicaragua in 2007, it has developed close relations with Russia, mostly political ones. The United States is by far Nicaragua's largest trading partner, followed by other Central American countries and Mexico.
As a Marxist-Leninist, Ortega was the leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990.
Nicaragua has been supporting Russia in the UN for a long time. In June last year, it approved the deployment of military personnel from Russia and other countries as part of a periodic update of long-term policy.
"Russia had different types of military presence in Nicaragua, especially military and intelligence advisers," Carlos Cascante, a professor at the University of Costa Rica, told Al Jazeera.
However, according to him, the timing was important for such a decision, which was made at the moment when the Summit of the Americas was held in Los Angeles, to which the USA did not invite Nicaragua, Venezuela or Cuba.
Ortega's constant concern is possible American intervention, so it is in Nicaragua's interest to project the support of a powerful ally in order to deter it, Carlos Murillo, professor of international relations at the University of Costa Rica, told Al Jazeera.
"Historically, Nicaragua is very adept at managing its diplomatic actions, although it may not always be obvious," added Murillo.
Why did Afghanistan recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014?
Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 was supported by Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria, Afghanistan and North Korea.
Almost all are considered "renegade" or unstable with deep historical roots linked to Russia and the former Soviet Union.
"Russia is using its power in an attempt to undermine American leadership and challenge its influence in the Western Hemisphere... Russia is seeking to win over Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to gain access to air bases and ports to supply its naval operations and strategic bombers operating in the Western Hemisphere. hemisphere," said in March 2015 John Kelly, former head of the US Southern Command.
The biggest surprise is Afghanistan's support for the annexation of Crimea. Just a generation ago, the Soviet Union brutally occupied Afghanistan, and the US military and NATO were still stationed in that country at the time of the annexation.
But the then president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, towards the end of his term, increasingly tried to distance Afghanistan from the West.
His support for the annexation of Crimea was probably an attempt to differentiate Kabul from Washington, according to "Business Insider".
Four countries recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008.
After winning the war in Georgia in 2008, Russia recognized two separatist regions - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - as independent states.
Several countries followed Moscow's move: Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria.
Tuvalu withdrew its recognition in 2014, while the status of Vanuatu's recognition of Abkhazia led to confusion between 2011 and 2015, only to confirm in 2019 that it supports Georgia's territorial integrity.
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