Allies deepen support for Ukraine in mid-August 2022

What did support for Ukraine look like away from the front line on 16 August 2022? In the days around that date, it took the form of a training pledge from the Pacific and a formal condemnation from the Baltic.

On 15 August 2022, New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced that 120 New Zealand troops would be deployed to the United Kingdom. Their task was to train Ukrainian forces. The announcement placed a country on the far side of the world among those contributing to the effort to prepare Ukrainian soldiers.

A few days earlier, on 11 August 2022, the Latvian Parliament declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. The vote was tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and it marked a sharp deterioration in relations between Riga and Moscow.

The two decisions were different in kind. One was practical, sending personnel to help train Ukrainian forces. The other was political, a formal declaration by a neighbour of Russia. Both were taken in response to the war, and both fell within the same few days.