The war in Ukraine had substantial impact on the development trajectory of Central Asia. The region which had not recovered yet from the earlier hit by the negative consequences of COVID-19 pandemic was trapped into a new geopolitical and economic crisis linked to the Russian intervention against Ukraine. This situation influenced considerably to the role and presence of primarily Russia and to less extent of China in the region. The limited connectivity options, economic decline in the major trade partners Russia and China, geopolitical tensions between the West, Russia and China, strict pandemic measures in China altogether impacted negatively on Central Asia. However, the regional countries are striving to minimize these implications by reinforcing intra Central Asian cooperation and connections with other important actors like Turkey, India, Middle Eastern development drivers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
