A high-level African delegation was preparing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, a day after its calls for talks between Moscow and Kyiv were rebuffed by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
The diplomatic team had gone to Kyiv on Friday to voice the concerns of a continent that has suffered from the fallout of Russiaโs invasion โ in particular rising grain prices โ with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insisting โthere should be peace through negotiationsโ.
But Zelensky ruled out that possibility during a joint press conference with the delegates, telling reporters: โI clearly said several times at our meeting that to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze pain and sufferingโ.
Shortly after the African leadersโ arrival, air raid sirens sounded across the country as Russian missiles were detected, forcing the delegates to take shelter in the capital.
Zelensky said the strike on Kyiv during the delegationโs visit showed that Putin either did not control his army, or was โirrationalโ.
Ramaphosa, however, took the barrage as evidence that both sides needed to stop fighting.
โIt is precisely that type of event that we saw todayโฆ that makes us call for de-escalation,โ Ramaphosa said, quoting Nelson Mandela several times on the need for peace.
In a statement, Zelensky said he had called on the leaders to set out their views on how to stop the โcrimes committed by Russiaโ, and how to work towards food security.
โBut first of all, we must restore the full force of the UN Charter and stop this brutal Russian aggression and free our land,โ he added.
The African delegation had gone first to Bucha, a town outside the capital that has become synonymous with alleged war crimes carried out by Moscow.
The group includes four presidents: Ramaphosa, Senegalโs Macky Sall, Zambiaโs Hakainde Hichilema and Comorosโ Azali Assoumani, who also currently heads the African Union.
The leaders of Uganda, Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville pulled out of the visit at the last moment and sent representatives instead.
The meeting came as Ukraine announced gains in a new counteroffensive, but Putin claimed on Friday that Kyivโs forces โstand no chanceโ in the sectors where fighting has intensified.
โ โClear messageโ โ
Following Fridayโs attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 12 missiles, including six hypersonic ones.
There was no reported damage inside the city, but seven people including two children were wounded, the regional police said.
โWith what happened today, itโs very obvious also to the African leaders how sincere Putin is about stopping the conflict,โ said Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Ukrainian officials were also quick to call attention to the strike.
โRussian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace,โ Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
The African leaders were set to meet Putin in the northwestern Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Saturday.
โIn our view it is important to listen very carefully to what both countries have to say, and tomorrow we are now going to listen to President Putin,โ Ramaphosa said.
Speaking at an annual economic forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday, Putin displayed little appetite for peace talks, announcing the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus while also calling Zelensky a โdisgrace to the Jewish peopleโ.
Russia first announced plans to station tactical nuclear arms in its ally and neighbour in March, with Putin saying Friday that the โfirst nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarusโ.
He said the weapons were meant as a deterrent to โthose who are thinking of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russiaโ.
Putin also told forum attendees he had โa lot of Jewish friendsโ who had told him โthat Zelensky is not Jewish, that he is a disgrace to the Jewish peopleโ.
Despite Zelenskyโs Jewish heritage, Moscow has justified its war with claims it needs to โde-Nazifyโ Ukraine.
โ โTouching livelihoodsโ โ
Analysts, meanwhile, said the delegationโs mediating effort could hope to win some concessions from the Kremlin ahead of a Russia-Africa summit next month.
The African continent has been badly hit by rising grain and fertiliser prices as well as the wider impact on global trade since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
โThis conflict is also affecting African countries negatively, touching on the livelihoods of 1.2 or 1.3 billion people on the African continent,โ Ramaphosa said.
African nations have been divided over their response to the war, with some siding with Ukraine and others remaining neutral or gravitating towards Moscow.
South Africa, for one, has drawn scrutiny for refusing to condemn the offensive launched by Moscow.
