Russia strikes Kyiv amid visit by African leaders on peace mission

Kyiv was hit by Russian airstrikes on Friday shortly before a delegation of African leaders arrived in the Ukrainian capital on a peace mission.

The African delegation is being led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, one of Moscow’s top allies.

“An explosion in the capital,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Friday morning, adding that the blast was reported in one of Kyiv’s northern districts. “Missiles are still flying at Kyiv.”

“Air defense is operating in the region, on the outskirts of Kyiv,” the military administration said, urging locals to remain in shelters.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched six Kalibr cruise missiles, six Kinzhal ballistic missiles, and two drones to carry out the strikes.

No buildings or facilities were damaged in the attack, Klitschko said.

The delegation of several African leaders is set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday in Kyiv, before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday, in an effort to restore a dialogue between the two warring countries.

But the timing of the visit raises questions, as Kyiv has just launched a much-awaited counteroffensive to regain lost territory, and Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in intense fighting in Ukraine’s south and east.

The South African presidency said the delegation arrived in Ukraine by train in Nemishaeve, a town about 30 kilometers northwest of Kyiv, and visited the site of the alleged mass killings in Bucha. They reportedly arrived in the Kyiv city center after the end of the air alert.

“Unfortunately, this day began with another Russian terrorist attack against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address late Friday. “Russian cruise and ballistic missiles today showed Russia’s real disdain for efforts to restore peace and for all world leaders, who are trying to protect the world from aggression.”

“Russia is the only source of war and the only reason why the consequences of this war harm the whole world,” the Ukrainian leader said. “No one can feel that their borders are protected, and the safety of their people is guaranteed, while Russia is trying to make aggression and theft of foreign lands a global norm,” he said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace.”

This article has been updated to include Dmytro Kuleba’s statement.