What happened on 1 March 2022 in Ukraine's war?

What did diplomacy and war look like on 1 March 2022, the sixth day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine? The day brought a formal step towards the European Union, a Ukrainian appeal to China, a disputed report about Belarusian troops and a claim about a foiled plot against the president.

A formal step towards the EU

On 1 March 2022 the European Parliament formally accepted Ukraine's application for EU membership. The application had been signed a day earlier, on 28 February, by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On that same day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine should in time join the EU, describing it as one of the bloc's own and saying the Commission wanted to see it in the European family.

The EU was also at the centre of a dispute over aircraft. On 28 February the Ukrainian government said the EU was handing over 70 fighter jets to its air force, including 28 MiG-29s from Poland, 12 from Slovakia, 16 from Bulgaria and 14 Su-25s from Bulgaria. Ukrainian pilots had begun arriving in Poland to take control of the aircraft. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said he had rejected the request. EU security chief Josep Borrell later clarified that any donations were made bilaterally by individual member states rather than by the EU itself.

Sanctions and arms

Sanctions pressure widened. On 1 March 2022 Andorran Prime Minister Xavier Espot announced that he would bring urgent legislation to parliament on Wednesday so that the General Council could approve a framework for economic sanctions on Russia. The law was meant to freeze the bank assets of 700 people and 50 companies that the EU considers linked to the invasion. It would be the first time in Andorra's history that sanctions were applied to a foreign country.

On 28 February Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson had announced that Sweden would send military equipment, including anti-tank launchers, to Ukraine. The decision broke with a doctrine of not sending arms to countries engaged in active conflict.

Talks and mediation

Diplomacy ran alongside the fighting. On 28 February, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak announced that peace talks had begun, and Ukraine used them to call for a ceasefire. The same day, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said that, in a phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin had confirmed his willingness to make commitments to stop attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and to secure major roadways.

On 1 March, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked China to help mediate a ceasefire. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded that China was ready to help Russia and Ukraine reach an agreement and mediate a ceasefire. China had also expressed regret over the conflict.

Belarus and the security of Kyiv

A contested report concerned Belarus. A senior Ukrainian territorial defence official said that Belarusian Ground Forces units had entered northern Chernihiv Oblast. The Ukrainian presidential office said there was no evidence that this had happened. Belarus had previously said it would not send its armed forces to Ukraine.

Ukrainian intelligence information, as reported on 1 March, also held that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had foiled an assassination plot against Zelenskyy. According to that information, they killed a group of Chechen paramilitaries known as Kadyrovtsy who had tried to enter Kyiv on 26 February.

The picture on 1 March 2022

Taken together, the day's reports showed Kyiv pursuing several tracks at once: a political path towards EU membership, requests for outside mediation, and continued military support from European states, while the status of Belarus's role remained disputed.