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Originally Posted by Itse
Huh. Why is Russia even asking Kazakhstan for troops?
Including Belarusian troops in the attack was a very different matter, as that was just as much about furthering the goal of full integration of Belarus into Russia, AND Belarusian troops are literally right there near the border, and they were presumably prepared to participate.
But why would they be asking Kazakhstan for troops? It's not like Kazakhstan could even move those troops to the front very quickly (so Russians not expecting a quick victory?), and Kazakhstan is still recovering from a borderline revolution just a month ago, so of course they wouldn't be eager to send any troops out of the country right now. Why even ask? For the symbolic value? But again, given Kazakhstans recent history, it seems really unlikely for them to agree. Kazakhstan has huge problems of it's own, many of which are economical, they are absolutely not in a position to get dragged into an international conflict. (Also, the January unrest in Kazakhstan was sparked by gas prices. Can't imagine them being very happy about Putin making things worse on that front.)
This is a weird story, one that would be nice to get confirmation on from non-Western sources, which I'm so far unable to find. Which isn't THAT surprising in itself, as Tokayev wouldn't want to embarrass Putin publicly.
But if true, it's a sign that things are not just "not going as well as hoped", it's a sign of actual desperation from Putin.
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I have also read here I think, that Russia hasn't yet asked Kazakhstan. If they did I think that the request is mostly symbolic in nature. I also don't believe for one minute that Nazarbaev isn't still ruling Kazakhstan despite not holding an official position at the moment. I would suspect that Putin and Nazarbaev are close allies as their cooperation was mutuality benificial for quite a few years/decades maybe.
If this becomes a regional war and drags on, I wouldn't be surprised if Kazakhstan is on the Russian side. That being said Kazakhstan like Mongolia serves as a buffer between Russia and China which up until now has left them free from invasion but not free from massive investment in their oil and mineral sector from both Beijing and Moscow.