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Johnson in Kyiv as diplomacy intensified
Summary
A look back at 9 April 2022, when a British prime minister's visit, arms pledges and a planned Moscow trip shaped the diplomatic picture.
What did Western leaders offer Ukraine on 9 April 2022, and who was talking to whom? The day brought a visit to Kyiv, new pledges of weapons and money, and word of a trip to Moscow.
British and Ukrainian officials reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. His office said he promised continued military assistance, including 120 armoured vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems. It also said he had guaranteed additional World Bank loans for Ukraine worth $500 million.
Zelenskyy also held talks with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Nehammer announced that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 11 April, making him the first European leader to do so in person since the war began.
Zelenskyy said on the same day that Ukraine remained ready to continue peace negotiations with Russia. Ukraine's Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, announced that Zelenskyy had ordered a third prisoner exchange with Russia. Twelve Ukrainian soldiers and 14 civilians were returning home.
Support from neighbours
The previous day, 8 April, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said Slovakia was handing over an S-300 air defence system to Ukraine, while the Czech Republic was sending tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. He described this as meeting one of Zelenskyy's main requests for help in defending against Russia's bombing campaign.
Accountability and pressure
On 8 April Zelenskyy said the situation in Borodianka was far worse than in Bucha, with even more victims. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said authorities had found 650 dead.
On 7 April, two former German ministers, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and Gerhart Baum, filed a complaint with federal prosecutors accusing Putin, all 32 members of Russia's Security Council and members of the armed forces of war crimes in Ukraine. On the same day, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Minsk should be included in negotiations to end the war. The US House of Representatives voted 420–3, and the Senate 100–0, for legislation suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, sending it to President Joe Biden for approval.
