Despite its close economic, historical, and cultural ties with Russia, Kazakhstan has maintained constructive relations with Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. That diplomatic balance was on display again on August 10, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to discuss prospects for a peace agreement.
According to official sources, Ukraine initiated the call, and Tokayev reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s “unconditional interest in establishing a lasting peace in Ukraine based on the principles of international law.” Astana supports a “joint search for a peaceful solution on a fair basis” and consistently advocates compliance with the UN Charter, the inviolability of borders, and the territorial integrity of sovereign states.
Kazakh political analyst Marat Shibutov has suggested that Zelenskyy is seeking support ahead of a potential shift in the confrontation with Russia.
“On the eve of the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Zelenskyy is calling the leaders of other countries. He is seeking not only to secure better conditions for Ukraine, but also to understand what his personal political future holds. Yesterday, he spoke with Macron, Meloni, Tusk, Stubb, von der Leyen, Sánchez, and Starmer. Today, he spoke with Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson, Ilham Aliyev, and President Tokayev,” Shibutov wrote.
According to Shibutov, Zelenskyy emphasized European support for Ukraine’s participation in negotiations. However, Tokayev, an experienced diplomat, may have cautioned that the outcome of the U.S.-Russia talks is unpredictable. “They depend on domestic politics,” Shibutov noted. “In the U.S., Trump’s electorate wants an end to the war and military aid to Ukraine halted, while many in Russia want Ukraine’s complete defeat and elimination as a state. In such conditions, Ukraine will have to make concessions. Territorial integrity is good, but not at the cost of the state’s very existence.”
The official statement from Tokayev’s office cited the old proverb: “A bad peace is better than a good war.”
Support During the War
On March 6, 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion, an anti-war rally was held in Almaty. Participants carried Ukrainian flags, blue-and-yellow balloons, and anti-war posters. That same month, Kazakhstan sent humanitarian aid worth more than $2 million, including 25 types of medical supplies weighing 82 tons. Volunteers also collected food, hygiene products, medicines, and animal feed worth 150 million tenge.
Kazakh entrepreneurs delivered aid and generators to Ukrainian hospitals. In the summer of 2023, a Kazakh company helped repair a medical facility in Mykolaiv damaged by Russian shelling. The installation of “yurts of indestructibility” in war-affected Ukrainian cities also gained wide recognition. In Kyiv alone, more than 100,000 people visited such a yurt to charge phones, warm up, and enjoy free Kazakh national dishes.
Only According to the UN Charter
Kazakhstan’s deep economic ties with Russia include oil and gas transit, gasoline supplies, and imports of food and medicine. The two countries share the world’s second-longest land border, spanning 4,750 miles. Cooperation on transboundary rivers is also critical.
In contrast, Kazakhstan’s links with Ukraine are modest, consisting largely of historical ties and family connections. Pre-war trade was minimal, involving small quantities of textiles and confectioneries.
Nevertheless, Kazakhstan has refused to side with Russia. In June 2022 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Tokayev stated that Kazakhstan does not recognize “quasi-state territories” such as the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR). He stressed that international law rests on the UN Charter and that the principles of self-determination and territorial integrity are in conflict in the war in Ukraine.
“If the right of nations to self-determination were applied universally, instead of the 193 UN member states, there would be more than 500 or 600 states. This would be chaos,” Tokayev said.
Russia recognized the DPR and LPR on February 21, 2022. Hours later, it launched what it called a “special military operation,” but which the majority of Western nations view as the invasion of a sovereign state.
Kazakhstan has repeatedly offered to mediate. In March 2022, its Foreign Ministry publicly supported a peaceful resolution between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian Ambassador Controversy
Relations were strained in August 2022 when Ukraine’s then-ambassador to Kazakhstan, Petr Vrublevsky, told a Kazakh blogger that Ukrainians should “kill as many Russians as possible.” The comment sparked outrage in Kazakhstan, home to several million ethnic Russians.
Public organizations and the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan condemned the remarks, accusing Vrublevsky of inciting interethnic hatred. He was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, and Ukraine later recalled him.
Another point of tension arose in 2025 when Ukraine struck the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in Russia’s Krasnodar Territory. The CPC is vital for Kazakh oil exports, carrying crude from the Tengiz field to the Black Sea. In 2024, Kazakhstan exported 68.6 million tons of oil, including 54.9 million tons via the CPC pipeline, 80% of the total. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry said it had conveyed its concerns to Kyiv.
As the war continues with no clear end in sight, Kazakhstan’s ability to maintain open channels with both Moscow and Kyiv remains a rare diplomatic asset in the region. Whether through humanitarian aid, mediation offers, or participation in international dialogue, Astana’s careful positioning may yet secure it a role in shaping future efforts towards peace.
