What Japan's vehicles and a Vatican envoy signalled in May 2023
Two announcements in the days before 25 May 2023 showed support for Ukraine moving along military and diplomatic tracks.
What did international backing for Ukraine look like on 25 May 2023? Two recent announcements, one military and one diplomatic, offered a picture.
On 24 May 2023, Japan announced that it would donate 100 military vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The pledge was practical support for the army, delivered through a donation rather than a loan or sale.
A few days earlier, on 20 May 2023, Pope Francis appointed Italian Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi as the Vatican's special envoy and peace envoy for the Russo-Ukrainian war. The appointment gave the Vatican a named figure for its peace efforts.
Two tracks, one war
The two announcements were different in kind. Japan's donation addressed the equipment needs of Ukraine's armed forces. The Vatican's step concerned efforts toward peace. Taken together, they showed attention to the war from governments and institutions beyond Ukraine's immediate neighbourhood, and across both material and diplomatic channels.
For Kyiv, the practical question was how each would be used. The vehicles were a concrete commitment, while the envoy's role was only beginning as of 25 May 2023.
