What happened on 15 March 2022 in politics?

What did politics look like on 15 March 2022, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine moved through its third week? The answer was a mix of symbolic journeys, retaliatory sanctions, legislative votes and a notable admission from Kyiv.

A train to Kyiv

The most visible gesture came from the European Union's eastern members. The prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic travelled to Kyiv by train to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Their stated aim was to demonstrate the EU's "unequivocal support" for Ukraine's sovereignty and independence.

A concession on NATO

On the same day, Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine would not be able to join NATO. Two days earlier, on 13 March 2022, he had again called for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, warning that it was only a matter of time before Russian rockets fell on NATO territory. He had also said that the purpose of the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations was to secure direct talks between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Washington acts

In the United States, the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution declaring Putin a war criminal and calling for the International Criminal Court to investigate him. President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion budget bill that included $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine. Washington also imposed additional sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Moscow answers with its own lists

Russia responded to Western sanctions on its officials with measures of its own. It sanctioned Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CIA Director William Burns and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It also sanctioned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, General Wayne Eyre and most members of the Canadian parliament, all of whom were banned from entering Russia.

Pressure at home

Inside Ukraine, the political fallout reached the pro-Russian Opposition Platform — For Life. Illia Kyva, one of its politicians, was deprived of his status as an MP in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament. A further four MPs quit the party.

The wider picture

The day combined several tracks at once: allied solidarity expressed in person, legal and financial steps in Washington, mirrored sanctions from Moscow, and a shift in Kyiv's public position on NATO. Another episode from 13 March 2022 shows the conditions under which this politics unfolded: Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Russian forces had abducted Yevhen Matviyev, the mayor of Dniprorudne, on day 18 of the invasion.