Who was still welcome at the table in April 2022?

What did it mean to be invited, sanctioned or defended in the final days of April 2022? On 29 April 2022, the 2022 G20 Bali summit offered one answer: Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted an invitation to the upcoming gathering in Indonesia, despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also invited.

Two leaders, one invitation list

The pairing was striking. The leader of the invading country and the leader of the invaded one were both named as guests at the same summit. Putin's acceptance meant Russia was not withdrawing from this forum even as the war continued.

Pressure from London, retaliation from Moscow

Two days earlier, on 27 April 2022, relations between Russia and the United Kingdom sharpened. Russia imposed sanctions on 287 members of the House of Commons, saying it was responding to sanctions on members of its State Duma. Senior cabinet ministers and House Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle were among those targeted.

The same day, British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said Russian threats to target Britain were unlawful and were only adding to the pariah status of Putin's regime. Set beside the Bali invitation, the exchange showed two tracks running at once: isolation pursued by some governments, while a multilateral forum still kept a place for Moscow.

Trade and defection

On 27 April 2022, the European Commission proposed lifting all tariffs for one year on Ukrainian produce not covered by the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, while easing trade conditions for other goods. The temporary suspension needed approval from the European Parliament and the member states, so it was a proposal rather than a settled measure.

There was also a personal act of dissent from inside Russia's financial sector. Also on 27 April 2022, Ihor Volobuev, a vice-president of Russia's Gazprombank, left his post and the country in protest at the war. He said he planned to join Kyiv's territorial defence, and described himself as Ukrainian by nationality, born in Okhtyrka, who could no longer watch from the sidelines what Russia was doing to his homeland.

What the day showed

Taken together, these developments from 27 to 29 April 2022 showed the breadth of the war's reach: summit diplomacy, parliamentary sanctions, trade support for Ukraine and individual choices by Russians. None of them resolved the conflict, but each marked a different front on which the consequences of the invasion were being worked out.