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What happened on 24 March 2022 in Ukraine?
Summary
A look back at a day of strikes, a destroyed landing ship, new Western military aid and cautious talk of a ceasefire.
What did the war look like on 24 March 2022, a month into the Russian invasion? It was a day of civilian casualties, a naval loss for Russia, fresh military aid for Ukraine and tentative words on diplomacy.
In Berdiansk, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Navy Alligator-class landing ship, the Orsk, at the port. Images on social media appeared to show the vessel burning.
In Kharkiv, a Russian airstrike hit a Nova Poshta post office and killed six civilians.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said staff at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were endangered by Russian shelling of a neighbouring town, which put at risk the homes and families of the operational personnel ensuring nuclear and radiation safety. A day earlier, a laboratory near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone had been looted and destroyed by Russian soldiers.
Aid and diplomacy
The United Kingdom said it was doubling the number of missiles it was sending to Ukraine, adding 6,000, including anti-tank guided missiles and surface-to-air missiles. It also pledged £30 million to help pay the wages of Ukrainian soldiers and air force pilots.
Canada, meanwhile, banned its soldiers from joining volunteer forces in Ukraine, saying their presence could be used in Russian propaganda.
On the diplomatic front, the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration, Andriy Yermak, said progress had been made in talks with Russia and expressed cautious optimism that a ceasefire could be reached. Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Belarusian troops were not willing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
The days before
On 23 March 2022, Ukrainian forces had pushed Russian troops back to about 55 km east of Kyiv, after weeks in which they had been 20–30 km away, according to a senior defence official. The same day, a Russian journalist, Oksana Baulina, was killed in shelling in Kyiv's Podilskyi District, and four people were injured in Russian air strikes on infrastructure in the capital. Russian military activity around Odesa had also increased, prompting speculation about an attack meant to pin down Ukrainian forces.
The Battle of Kyiv itself later ended, on 2 April 2022, with the withdrawal of Russian forces.
