Joint press conference of the Kyrgyz MFA Ruslan Kazakbayev (on the left) and Russian MFA Sergey Lavrov (on the right). Moscow, March 5, 2022. Screenshot from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia YouTube channel The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the way it escalated into a full-fledged war unraveled the foundations of Central Asian economic, political and strategic architecture, forcing the governments and citizens to take a stance and choose sides in this new “lose-lose situation.” Along with long-lasting economic, social, and political interactions between Russia and post-Soviet Central Asian states, three (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Russia-led military alliance, while two (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) are full members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). On top of that, remittances, predominantly from Russia, make up almost a third of Kyrgyzstan's GDP, while Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian state to share land borders with Russia, it is also home to more than 18 percent of the ethnic Russian population. Under these circumstances, each state responded differently to the war — from ignoring it altogether to incorporating their national interests into it, adapting, in the meantime, to the changing course of the war, while trying to withstand Russian pressure. As Akylbek Japarov, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, uneasily summed up: «Буду откровенен, от нас со всех сторон требуют какого-то определения, требуют озвучить поддержку какой-то стороне конфликта». I would be honest, from all sides they demand some determination. They demand that we choose sides in this conflict. On February 22, 2022, following the Russian recognition of the separatist entities in Eastern Ukraine, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov commented that Russia was, perhaps, compelled to recognize the independence of the two breakaway regions to protect the civilian population of the Donbas region, where many Russian citizens reside. He approvingly added that recognizing any state is a sovereign right of any country. A similar apologetic stance was taken by Mukhtar Tleuberdi, the Kazakh Foreign Minister, as he not only mentioned the West's failure to duly respond to the Russian agreement proposals to the US and NATO, but brought in “the humanitarian crisis in the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.” He, nevertheless, assured that “the question of Kazakhstan's recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic was off the table.” On February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (EIC) representing the heads of governments of the EAEU was held in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan. The extended coverage of this event comprised of standard integration rhetoric and economic statistics, totally ignoring the elephant in the room. As could be expected, amidst the massive bombardment of Ukrainian cities, all eyes were on Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who, along with the EIC meeting, had separate meetings with President Tokayev, whose official website mentioned joint measures to prevent the decrease of trade volume amidst the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and launch of anti-Russian sanctions. He also met with Alikhan Smailov, the newly appointed Kazakh Prime Minister. However, unlike the official Kazakh report, which preferred to skip the conflict altogether and focus on economic matters, the Russian news agencies recurrently aired Mishustin­ ambiguously stating: Страны Запада пытаются иногда и разобщить нас, и здесь своим присутствием в это сложное время мы говорим всем, что мы вместе. Western countries try to disunite us from time to time, and by being here in this difficult time we say to everyone that we are together. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visiting a Russian Orthodox Church in Nur-Sultan, February 25, 2022. Screenshot from the Semirechie YouTube channel The long-expected “togetherness” and solidarity with Russia that Mishustin desperately tried to evoke in his Kazakh counterpart, were soon felt at his meeting with Akylbek Japarov, who recalled an epic quote by the Kyrgyz president: Мы были 200 лет с Россией и готовы еще 300 лет быть вместе с ней. We were together with Russia for 200 years and are ready to be with her for another 300 years. Understandably, the Kyrgyz Cabinet chose to omit this quote in their report.