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What 22 May 2024 showed about the war's reach
Summary
A look back at a day of aid pledges, a children's return brokered by Qatar and alarm over a Baltic border proposal.
What did the war look like on 22 May 2024? It was a day of money, diplomacy and tension well beyond the front line.
Sweden announced US$7 billion in military aid to Ukraine for the period from 2024 to 2026. On the same day, Russia returned six Ukrainian children displaced by the war to Ukraine, in a deal brokered by Qatar.
Fighting continued in the east. At least two people were killed and four injured by Ukrainian shelling in Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast, according to reports from 22 May 2024.
A Baltic proposal draws concern
The Russian Ministry of Defence also proposed unilaterally adjusting Russia's maritime border in the Baltic Sea. Baltic members of NATO, including Finland and Lithuania, voiced concern. The ministry later retracted the proposal.
Courts and security pacts in the days before
The preceding days brought other developments. On 21 May 2024, Moldova became the first non-European Union signatory country to sign a security and defence pact with the EU. The pact covers help with strengthening and managing borders, cooperation on cybersecurity and combating disinformation.
In Russia, a court in Saint Petersburg sentenced Anatoly Maslov, a 77-year-old hypersonic missiles expert, to 14 years in prison for state treason on 21 May 2024. A day earlier, on 20 May 2024, a court in Novosibirsk sentenced a 24-year-old man to 25 years in prison for allegedly plotting an arson attack on a military recruitment office with alleged directions from Ukraine.
