What happened in Ukraine on 11 March 2022

What did the war look like on 11 March 2022, the sixteenth day after Russia's invasion began? Reports from that day point to a conflict widening geographically, with strikes reaching further west and centre, a convoy repositioning near the capital, and Western governments adding new economic measures.

Strikes beyond the front lines

Russia launched what was described as "high-precision" airstrikes on airfields in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine. Four Ukrainian service members were killed and six others injured. Russian Air Force jets also bombed the city of Dnipro for the first time, destroying a shoe factory and killing one person.

Pressure around Kyiv, gains near Chernihiv

Near the capital, a large convoy of Russian military vehicles, including tanks and self-propelled artillery, began "fanning out" to forests and towns near Kyiv as it prepared to advance on the city.

In the north, Ukrainian Ground Forces launched a counter-offensive in Chernihiv Oblast. They regained control of five settlements from Russian forces and seized two Russian armoured personnel carriers and ammunition. Ukrainian military officials also said that 31 Russian battalion tactical groups had been damaged or destroyed.

A mayor seized in the south

In Melitopol, Russian troops captured the mayor, Ivan Fedorov, and took him to an unknown location after he refused to cooperate with the occupation forces. His capture was confirmed by Anton Herashchenko, an official of Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry.

Sanctions widen

U.S. president Joe Biden announced that he would revoke Russia's most favoured nation trade status, in coordination with the European Union and the Group of Seven. The United States would also ban imports of Russian seafood, alcohol and diamonds, forbid new investment in Russia by American citizens, and criminalise the export of U.S. banknotes to Russia.

The European Union announced its own measures: a ban on all imports of iron and steel goods from Russia, a ban on exports of luxury goods to Russia, and a freeze on Russia's cryptocurrency assets.

The commercial fallout spread further. Air Astana suspended all flights to and from Russia, citing the withdrawal of insurance coverage for commercial flights. Two Ukrainian producers of semiconductor-grade neon gas, which together supplied about half of the world's total, shut down operations because of the invasion, a development expected to worsen the semiconductor shortages that began with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Markets, meanwhile, moved upward. Stock prices rose in the United States and other global markets after Russian president Vladimir Putin said there had been progress in talks with Ukraine; the Dow rose by 300 points.

Information space and dissent

Russia blocked access to Instagram in response to Meta Platforms allowing "calls to violence" toward Russian soldiers in Ukraine, as well as death threats toward Putin. Separately, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny renewed calls for anti-war and anti-Putin protests in cities across Russia.

The picture on 11 March 2022

Taken together, the day's reports show several tracks running in parallel: Russian strikes extending to cities and airfields far from the initial front, local Ukrainian counter-attacks in the north, the targeting of local officials in occupied areas, and an expanding set of Western economic penalties. The effects of the war on global supply chains, aviation and markets were also becoming visible, even as Putin's remarks on the talks lifted share prices.