6 April 2022: Lend-lease vote and Russia's NATO demand
A look back at a day when the US Senate moved to speed up arms deliveries and Moscow set out conditions for ending its invasion.
What did diplomacy and military support look like in the days after the discovery of mass graves near Kyiv? On 6 April 2022, two developments pointed in different directions: the US Senate acted to speed up weapons deliveries to Ukraine, while Russia set out what it wanted in return for ending its invasion.
Washington revives lend-lease
The US Senate unanimously passed a law authorising President Joe Biden to use the lend-lease programme, last applied in the Second World War, to accelerate the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine. The vote was without dissent.
Moscow's conditions
On the same day, Russia said it would end its invasion if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to conditions set out during negotiations. The central demand was a legal guarantee that Ukraine would not join NATO, secured by changing the Ukrainian constitution to include such a provision. Russia also said it had suspended operations in Kyiv as a "goodwill gesture" meant to promote peace talks.
The backdrop: Bucha
The statements came against the background of events in Bucha, near Kyiv. The Battle of Bucha had lasted from 27 February to 31 March 2022 and ended with the withdrawal of Russian forces. On 4 April, a mass grave was found in the town. Kyiv region police and local residents said they believed at least 150 people were buried there, while the mayor said the number of dead could reach 300. Zelenskyy visited the site.
That same day, Biden called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to face trial for war crimes after more images of the Bucha massacre emerged. Zelenskyy said peace talks would continue despite the killings.
Taken together, the events of 6 April 2022 showed the two tracks running side by side: Western governments expanding the tools for supplying Ukraine, and Russia tying an end to its invasion to a constitutional commitment on NATO, even as the talks Zelenskyy had pledged to continue went on.
