Evacuation corridors closed and Russia isolated: 23 April 2022 in context
A look back at the diplomatic and humanitarian picture around 23 April 2022, from blocked evacuations in Luhansk region to Russia's standing at the G20.
What did the diplomatic picture look like on 23 April 2022, as fighting in the east intensified? The reports from the preceding days point to a widening gap between pressure on Moscow and the situation on the ground for civilians.
Humanitarian access closed
On 22 April, Russian shelling disrupted an attempt to evacuate civilians from Rubizhne, where heavy fighting was under way. Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said a bus could not reach the city. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said there were no open evacuation corridors through Russian-controlled territory because of danger on the routes.
On the same day, European Council President Charles Michel and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They strongly urged an immediate and safe humanitarian exit from Mariupol and other besieged cities.
Pressure on Russia's place in international forums
On 20 April, finance ministers from the United States and many European countries left a closed G20 session in Washington as Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov began to deliver his prepared remarks virtually, according to a person familiar with the meeting. That followed a call by US President Joe Biden to exclude Russia from the G20. Such a step requires the agreement of all members, and China appeared not to support it.
China's position was visible in other reports. On 19 April, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said Beijing would strengthen strategic ties with Russia and confirmed support for Putin, at a time when Russian forces faced accusations of war crimes over the killing of civilians.
Energy and security signals
On 20 April, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Riga, alongside her Baltic counterparts, that Germany would give up Russian oil and energy imports by the end of the year. Oil imports would be halved by summer and then reduced to zero by year's end.
On the battlefield, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych claimed on 20 April that Ukraine was blocking an attempted Russian advance on Sloviansk. On 19 April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would not use nuclear weapons and would keep using conventional arms, after American allegations that it might use them.
What the pattern showed
Taken together, the reports show Western governments tightening economic and diplomatic pressure while civilians in besieged and contested areas remained without safe exits. Germany's energy pledge and the walkout at the G20 pointed one way; China's backing for Moscow and the need for unanimity at the G20 limited how far that pressure could go in that forum.
