Russo-Ukrainian War Updates: Missiles fired in Kiev during African leaders’ visit

The leaders, who traveled by train from Poland, will meet President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev before heading to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Footage of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arriving at the train station in Kiev and being greeted by Ukrainian officials has been shared On the official Twitter account of the president on Friday morning.

In a video released while the air raid alert was still active in the capital, Vincent Magwenya, a spokesperson for the South African President’s Office, said Mr Ramaphosa had “arrived here safely”.

The South African president visited the Kiev suburb of Buka, where The New York Times and others documented Russian atrocities after the invasion of Moscow, and was waiting to start talks with Mr. Zelensky.

The risks of war are particularly high for Africa, which has seen critical supply chains, especially for agricultural products, disrupted by the fighting.

“As you all know, Africa has been deeply affected by this conflict in terms of food insecurity, grain prices, fertilizer prices, but also, this mission is looking for a path to peace that will raise the level of suffering that people have experienced in Ukraine,” said Mr. Magwenya. .

The peace initiative was announced last month by Mr. Ramaphosa, just days after the US ambassador to South Africa accused the country of supplying arms to Russia for war. South African officials denied the allegation.

More than a dozen African countries abstained from voting at the United Nations to condemn Russia or call for its withdrawal from Ukraine, with a handful voting in support of Russia.

South Africa and other countries on the continent have firmly maintained that it is best to take a neutral stance on the war, saying they can better serve the situation by trying to broker peace.

The leaders of the Republic of the Congo, Egypt and Uganda had also planned to travel to Ukraine but would send representatives instead, a spokesperson for the South African president told News24, a South African news outlet, although there was no explanation for why.

The delegation was organized in part by Jean-Yves Olivier, a wealthy French businessman with a long history of involvement in peace negotiations for countries across Africa. But Sir Oliver was He looks at her with suspicion For his close relations with Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso.

Mr. Olivier told several news organizations that the delegation came from conversations he had with heads of state in several African countries with whom he was close. He said the first business deal in talks with Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Putin would be to discuss possible prisoner swaps and to promote agreements that would allow the export of fertilizers from Russia.

in Article in NewsweekHe said the mission could achieve progress “by starting a dialogue on topics of interest to both countries and that would not directly affect, initially, the military situation on the ground.”

“And there will be a heap of dialogues,” he added. “And from this dialogue, we believe that this can lead to other issues and at least open prospects for a settlement.”

Megan Spaceia Contributed reporting from Lviv, Ukraine.