Ukraine Calls Russian Missile Attack on Kyiv 'Message to Africa'

A team of African leaders set on brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine were greeted by a barrage of Russian missiles upon their arrival in Kyiv.

Reuters reported that the delegation, which included the leaders of Senegal, Egypt, South Africa, Comoros, Zambia and envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday ahead of a meeting planned with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg this weekend. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the leaders are visiting "to share the African perspective" on the war—namely, the grain industry supply flow from the warring countries to African nations—in hopes of reaching a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine.

But negotiations between the two adversaries look far from reach, with Zelensky reiterating on Friday that Ukraine is only interested in peace talks that include the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories in Ukraine. Officials also said that Moscow showed its true colors to the African delegation by launching an air raid during the leaders' visits. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 12 Russian missiles, including six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, were intercepted by Kyiv's forces after being launched in the direction of the nation's capital, prompting them to briefly return to their hotel as a "precautionary measure," Ramaphosa spokesman Vincent Magwenya said, according to the AP. Russia has not formally announced its responsibility.

"Putin 'builds confidence' by launching the largest missile attack on Kyiv in weeks, exactly amid the visit of African leaders to our capital," tweeted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. "Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry by email for comment.

Following Friday's meeting about peace negotiations, Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv that he emphasized "several times at our meeting" that the allowance of "any negotiations with Russia now, when the occupier is on our land, means freezing the war, freezing the pain and suffering."

"We need real peace, and therefore, a real withdrawal of Russian troops from our entire independent land," he continued, per a report from the Ukrainian news site Interfax-Ukraine.

Grain & the War in Ukraine

The Ukrainian leader also acknowledged his country's commitment to ensuring flowing exports of grains to the African continent. Following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, millions of tons of grain were trapped at Ukrainian ports, leading to soaring global food prices and particularly threatening food supplies in the Middle East and Africa.

According to Zelensky, part of Friday's meeting was dedicated to a discussion of the Ukraine grain deal, and the Ukrainian president told reporters that "every person's right to food must be ensured by stopping any attempts by states like Russia to use the threat of hunger and social instability to blackmail the people.

"I asked the participants of the meeting to give their vision of how we together we can do even more for food security and the creation of grain hubs," Zelensky said.

President of the Comoro Islands and current chair of the African Union Azali Assoumani told reporters on Friday that it was not in the delegations' "interest to simply do nothing" during their meetings with Ukraine and Russia.

"That would be cowardly," he added, per Reuters' report. "This discussion is absolutely necessary. Let me assure you: we understand your pain. We have lived through it. And we will have a discussion with Putin."

Much of the African continent, like many members of the Global South, has taken a fairly neutral stance on the war in Ukraine. China has also claimed neutrality and previously offered a peace plan to end the nearly 16-month war, but the negotiations were quickly dismissed by both Ukraine and U.S. officials.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated earlier this month that America would not support peace talks to end the war in Ukraine unless Kyiv is able to negotiate on its own terms.

"We believe the prerequisite for meaningful diplomacy and real peace is a stronger Ukraine, capable of deterring and defending against any future aggression," Blinken said during a speech in Finland, per a report by the Associated Press (AP).

Meanwhile, Moscow has stated that Ukraine's strongest Western allies—including the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany and France—cannot be involved in eventual peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.