According to the publication, more than 20 percent of the population of Kazakhstan are ethnic Russians, some of whom, even before the start of a full-scale war, declared that the north of the country allegedly belongs to Russia. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the occupation of Crimea, emphasized that Kazakhstan did not have a history of statehood before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The WSJ notes that after the invasion of Ukraine, the Kazakhs began to take such aggressive rhetoric especially seriously. The authorities of Kazakhstan began to pay great attention to the development of the country’s defense sector.
In April, Kazakhstan agreed with China and Turkey to strengthen military cooperation. In early May, diplomats from Kazakhstan and Turkey signed an agreement on the joint production of military drones in Kazakhstan.
Also, the country’s defense budget increased by 441 billion tenge, or about $918 million. According to a high-ranking official of Kazakhstan, part of these funds will be used to increase military reserves and reform the army.
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