What was diplomacy doing around 17 April 2022?

What was the political picture on 17 April 2022, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued? The reports from the preceding days show a mix of Western signals of support, Russian warnings and preparations for economic talks abroad.

Solidarity in Kyiv

On 12 April and 13 April 2022, the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were reported in Kyiv, where they met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The visit included the Mariinsky Palace and was described as a signal of shared European solidarity and a chance to discuss continued political and military support. The leaders also visited sites of alleged war crimes in nearby Borodianka.

German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier had also proposed joining the trip, but it was reported to be unwelcome in Kyiv. The reason given was his close ties with Russia in earlier political posts.

Washington's language and weapons

On 12 April 2022, US president Joe Biden used the word genocide for the war in Ukraine for the first time, at an event in Iowa. Zelenskyy called it the real words of a real leader, having himself first used the word on 3 April to describe the massacre in Bucha. The following day, Colombian president Iván Duque said in an interview that what was happening in Ukraine was genocide.

On 13 April 2022, the United States announced a further $800 million in security assistance. The package included 11 Mi-17 helicopters, 18 155mm howitzers, 300 more Switchblade drones and radar systems able to track incoming fire and pinpoint its source. Some Biden administration officials had considered such a step too risky in terms of escalation only weeks earlier.

Warnings from Moscow

The same day, Russia's defence ministry said it would begin targeting Ukrainian decision-makers, including Zelenskyy, and command centres in Kyiv if Ukrainian forces kept attacking Russian territory. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said US and NATO vehicles carrying weapons on Ukrainian territory were legal military targets.

Arrests, talks and the economy

On 12 April 2022, Zelenskyy reported on Telegram that Viktor Medvedchuk, a key pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and oligarch, had been detained in an operation by the SBU security service. Zelenskyy planned to use him in a future exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

On 14 April 2022, Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Turkey was still working to organise a possible meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The economic fallout was also on the agenda. On 15 April 2022, Ukraine announced that prime minister Denys Shmyhal, finance minister Serhiy Marchenko and National Bank head Kyrylo Shevchenko would travel to Washington the following week for the IMF and World Bank meetings, where talks would focus on the invasion and its effect on the global economy. On 14 April 2022, Egypt's agriculture minister said India had approved Egyptian wheat imports because of the shortage caused by the invasion.