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Kremenchuk, the G7 and Putin's first trip abroad
Summary
A look back at how a missile strike, a summit pledge and a Kremlin foreign visit converged in the days around 28 June 2022.
What did the world's richest democracies promise Ukraine in the hours after a missile struck a crowded shopping centre? On 28 June 2022, that question framed the political picture left by the previous two days.
On 27 June 2022, two missiles hit a mall in the city of Kremenchuk. As reported at the time, at least 13 people were killed and at least 50 injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than a thousand people were inside when the strike came. A later account put the toll higher, at least 20 dead and at least 59 injured, and said the missiles were Kh-22 cruise missiles that also hit the adjacent Kredmash road machinery plant in central Kremenchuk, in Poltava Oblast. That account also noted that Russian media and officials gave conflicting stories about the attack.
A summit with a Ukrainian agenda
The strike came as leaders met at the 48th G7 summit in Germany. They issued a statement pledging more financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine. The pledge followed a video from Zelenskyy calling for more heavy weapons from allies. The sequence is plain: a public request from Kyiv, then a collective commitment from the G7 across four areas of support.
Moscow's diplomacy
On 26 June 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin began a trip to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. It was his first foreign travel since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The visit was thus under way as the G7 gathered and as the missiles fell on Kremenchuk.
What the days showed
Three developments ran side by side: a Russian leader travelling abroad for the first time since the invasion, Western leaders widening their stated support for Ukraine, and a strike on a civilian site that drew the attention of that same summit. The G7 statement set out the kinds of support leaders intended to provide, while Zelenskyy's appeal made clear that heavy weapons were the particular request from Kyiv.
