African leaders in Ukraine to broker peace amidst Russian strikes

GOOBJOOG NEWS | KYIV: African leaders have arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine on a peace mission as Russia intensified its missile attacks on the capital.

The peace delegation, including leaders from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, the Comoros and Egypt, met defence ministry representatives ahead of talks planned later on Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The leaders are also scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Saturday as the global community races against time to mediate in a war that has hit African countries by disrupting grain and other food supplies.

The African delegation is seeking agreement on a series of “confidence building measures”, but Kyiv has said its own peace initiative must be the basis of any settlement and has launched a counteroffensive to push back Russian occupying forces.

However, Russia has played down the chances of meaningful peace talks with Kyiv saying conditions for a peace process are not in place, but that it is ready to listen and is open to outside initiatives.

Ukraine has blamed Russia of carrying out executions, rapes and torture in Bucha, and international investigators are collecting evidence of war crimes, allegatins which the Kremlin denies.