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Diplomacy and arms: Ukraine's 1 March 2022
Summary
On the sixth day of the invasion, Kyiv pressed for EU membership and a ceasefire while foreign governments weighed arms, sanctions and mediation.
What did Ukraine's leadership try to secure on 1 March 2022, the sixth day of the Russian invasion, beyond the battlefield? Reports from that day and the days just before it show a push on three fronts: European integration, a negotiated ceasefire and foreign military support.
A step towards Europe
On 28 February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an application for Ukraine to join the European Union. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Ukraine should eventually join the bloc, calling it one of the EU's own and saying the EU wanted to see it in the European family. On 1 March 2022, the European Parliament formally accepted the application.
Talks and mediation
Also on 28 February 2022, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak announced that peace talks had begun, and Ukraine called for a ceasefire during them. On 1 March 2022, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked China to help mediate a ceasefire. China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, replied that China was ready to help Russia and Ukraine reach an agreement and mediate a ceasefire. China had also expressed regret over the conflict.
Separately, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said that, in a phone call on 28 February 2022, Vladimir Putin had confirmed his willingness to make commitments to stop attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and to secure major roadways.
Weapons and aircraft
Foreign military support was also moving. On 28 February 2022, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced that Sweden would send military equipment, including anti-tank launchers, to Ukraine. That broke with a doctrine of not sending arms to countries engaged in active conflict.
The same day, Ukrainian Air Force pilots began arriving in Poland to take control of fighter aircraft donated by EU countries. The Ukrainian government said 70 jets were being handed over: 28 MiG-29s from Poland, 12 from Slovakia, 16 from Bulgaria and 14 Sukhoi Su-25s from Bulgaria. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said he had rejected the request. EU security chief Josep Borrell later clarified that the donations were made bilaterally by individual member states, not by the EU itself.
Sanctions
On 1 March 2022, Andorra's prime minister, Xavier Espot, announced that he would take 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 considered linked to the invasion. It was reported as the first time Andorra had applied sanctions to a foreign country.
Security claims on the ground
Two security reports also emerged. According to Ukrainian intelligence information, the Ukrainian Armed Forces foiled an assassination plot against Zelenskyy by killing a group of Chechen paramilitaries known as Kadyrovtsy, who had been trying to enter Kyiv on 26 February.
On 1 March 2022, a senior Ukrainian territorial defence official said Belarusian Ground Forces units had entered northern Chernihiv Oblast. The Ukrainian presidential office said there was no evidence of this. Belarus had earlier said it would not send its armed forces to Ukraine.
Reading the day
Taken together, the reports show Kyiv working in parallel: formalising its European aspirations, seeking a ceasefire through both direct talks and third-party mediation, and gathering arms from abroad. Those efforts met a mixed response. Brussels and Beijing offered words of support or help, several governments offered weapons or sanctions, and the question of Belarus's role remained contested between Ukrainian officials.
