Aid, alarms and domestic reform in Ukraine, 25 January 2022
A look back at the diplomatic and domestic news that framed Ukraine's agenda in the days around 25 January 2022.
What was Ukraine's government dealing with on 25 January 2022? The picture, assembled from reports of the preceding days, mixed external pressure with routine state-building.
Money and diplomacy
On 24 January 2022, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a package of assistance for Ukraine worth €1.2 billion. It came days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on 19 January 2022 for a one-day visit to show support for Ukraine and to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. The White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, had said the day before that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at any point and that no option was off the table.
On 19 January 2022, US President Joe Biden said a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine would bring a more severe penalty than a "minor incursion". He also predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would move on Ukraine because he had to do something.
A region on alert
The same day, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas warned that the presence of Russian troops in Belarus posed a direct threat to Lithuania. On 22 January 2022, Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach resigned as Inspector of the German Navy after remarks at a think tank in New Delhi. He had called Russia's intention to attack Ukraine nonsense, said Putin deserved respect, and dismissed the prospects of Ukraine regaining Crimea or joining NATO.
Business at home
Domestic institutions kept working alongside the diplomacy. On 19 January 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the creation of a State Service for Children's Affairs, to shape and carry out policy on adoption and the protection of children's rights. On 20 January 2022, the Verkhovna Rada's committee on financial and tax policy backed a bill on an "economic passport of a Ukrainian", which had been announced in December 2021.
Taken together, these reports show a country receiving financial backing and warnings from partners while its government and parliament continued with institutional and economic legislation.
