Kyiv visit, sanctions and a Senate vote: 15 March 2022
A look back at a day when three EU prime ministers travelled to the Ukrainian capital, Russia widened its sanctions and Ukraine's parliament changed its make-up.
What did politics look like on 15 March 2022, the 20th day of Russia's full-scale invasion? It combined a show of European solidarity in Kyiv, a series of sanctions moves between Moscow and Western capitals, and a shift in Ukraine's own parliament.
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train
The prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic travelled to Kyiv by train on 15 March 2022. They met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The stated purpose was to demonstrate the European Union's "unequivocal support" for Ukraine's sovereignty and independence.
On the same day, Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine would not be able to join NATO. Two days earlier, on 13 March, he had again called for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, warning that it was only a matter of time before Russian rockets fell on NATO territory. He also said on 13 March that the aim of the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations was to secure direct talks between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Changes in the Verkhovna Rada
In Ukraine's parliament, Illia Kyva, a politician for the pro-Russian Opposition Platform — For Life, was deprived of his status as an MP on 15 March. A further four MPs quit the party the same day.
Sanctions and resolutions abroad
In Washington, the United States Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution declaring Putin a war criminal and calling for the International Criminal Court to investigate him. U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion budget bill that included $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine. The United States also imposed additional sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Russia responded to earlier U.S. sanctions on Russian officials by sanctioning Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CIA Director William Burns and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Moscow also sanctioned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, General Wayne Eyre and most members of the Canadian parliament. All of those named were banned from entering Russia.
A detail from the days before
In reports dated 13 March, the 18th day of the invasion, Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said that Russian forces had abducted Yevhen Matveyev, the mayor of Dniprorudne.
Taken together, the events of 15 March 2022 showed diplomacy and sanctions advancing alongside the war, with Ukraine's leadership seeking both security guarantees and direct negotiations with Moscow.
