Russia-Ukaine war: List of key events, day 422

By William On Apr 21, 2023

As the war enters its 422nd day, we review key developments.

This is the situation on Wednesday, April 20, 2023:

To fight

A Russian fighter jet mistakenly fired on the Russian town of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, state news agency TASS quoted the defense ministry as saying.
A Ukrainian major said a counter-offensive against Russian forces could begin at any time and be a “sudden attack”.
The Russian military launched a video advertising campaign to encourage men to sign up for war. Reports suggest that Moscow is trying to recruit as many as 400,000 volunteer career soldiers.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg visited Kiev for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Stoltenberg said Ukraine’s rightful place was in the military alliance and membership and security guarantees for Ukraine would be high on the agenda at the NATO summit in July.
The Kremlin said preventing Ukraine from ever joining NATO was a major war goal.
Zelenskyy called on Mexican lawmakers to support his country’s fight against invading Russian forces, rebuking those he accused of denying Ukraine’s push for peace. The Mexican government has said it wants to remain neutral in the war.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone with US President Joe Biden to discuss Ukraine as well as China and Sudan, his office said.
Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city had ended the deal with the Russian embassy to lease land in the capital and wanted the property returned to the Ukrainian state.
Ron van Dartel, a seasoned Dutch diplomat who was appointed less than three weeks ago to promote Dutch involvement in the reconstruction of Ukraine, has resigned after being quoted in a new book as saying: “Ukrainians are Russians too. That is the reality.”

Denmark and the Netherlands have agreed to buy and donate 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, which is likely to receive the tanks “early 2024”.