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What did 8 April 2022 reveal about the war?
Summary
A look back at a day of grim reports from Borodianka, new Western arms pledges and legislative moves abroad.
What was happening in Ukraine's politics and diplomacy on 8 April 2022? The day combined fresh accounts of civilian deaths near Kyiv with new pledges of weapons from neighbouring states.
Borodianka and the toll
In his address on 8 April 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Borodianka was far worse than in Bucha, with even more victims. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said that 650 dead had been found there.
Arms from Slovakia and Czechia
On the same day, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said Slovakia was handing Ukraine an S-300 air-defence missile system, while Czechia was sending tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. He described this as meeting one of Zelenskyy's main requests for help in defending the country against Russia's bombing campaign.
Moves in Washington and Berlin
The days before had brought further steps abroad. On 6 April 2022, the US Senate unanimously passed a law authorising President Joe Biden to use the lend-lease programme, last employed in the Second World War, to speed up deliveries of military equipment to Ukraine.
On 7 April 2022, the US House of Representatives voted 420–3 for legislation suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. The Senate then voted 100–0 for the same legislation, sending it to Biden for approval.
Also on 7 April 2022, former German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and former Interior Minister Gerhart Baum filed a complaint with German federal prosecutors. It accused Russian President Vladimir Putin, all 32 members of Russia's Security Council and members of the Russian armed forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Talks and conditions
On the diplomatic track, Russia said on 6 April 2022 that it would end its invasion if Zelenskyy agreed to conditions set out in negotiations. Chief among them was a legal guarantee, written into Ukraine's constitution, that the country would not join NATO. Russia also said it had suspended operations in Kyiv as a goodwill gesture to promote peace talks. On 7 April 2022, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Minsk should be included in negotiations to end the war.
Taken together, the reports around 8 April 2022 show military aid, sanctions legislation and legal action advancing abroad while Ukrainian officials were documenting the toll in towns near Kyiv.
