Almost since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, analysts in the West have wrung their hands about a perceived lack of support for Kyiv from the Global South.
The explosion of open war in Europe galvanised the transatlantic alliance and ushered in a major shift in strategic thinking on the continent. But it also exposed gaps in the priorities and concerns of governments elsewhere, many of which hoped to see an immediate end to a war that had destabilised the global economy and critical food supply chains – even if it meant Ukraine making concessions to Russian aggression.
At the Shangri-La Dialogue, a leading
