Kiev says its own peace initiative should be the basis for any settlement of the war.
Kyiv, Ukraine:
At least two explosions rocked Kiev on Friday and air raid sirens sounded as African leaders launched a peace mission in hopes of mediating between Ukraine and Russia.
The African delegation, which includes the leaders of South Africa, Senegal, Comoros and Egypt, was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and then hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
A Reuters eyewitness in central Kiev said he heard two explosions. Mayor Vitali Klitschko also reported explosions in the central Podil district, and warned that more missiles were headed towards the capital.
Another Reuters correspondent in the capital saw plumes of smoke from two missiles in the air. It was not clear whether those missiles were fired by Russia or the Ukrainian air defence.
A Reuters television crew saw the African leaders arrive in Kiev in a convoy of cars and enter a hotel to use an air raid shelter.
The leaders began their trip with a visit to Bucha near Kiev, one of several places where Ukraine says Russian troops committed mass atrocities following its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia denies the allegations.
The African peace mission, which includes President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and President Macky Sall of Senegal, could propose a series of “confidence-building measures” during initial efforts at mediation, according to a draft framework document seen by Reuters .
The document states that the purpose of the mission is to “promote the importance of peace and encourage the parties to agree to a process of dialogue led by diplomacy”.
Those measures could include a Russian military pull-back, the removal of strategic nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspending the implementation of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant targeting Putin and sanctions relief, it indicated.
The document states that a cessation of hostilities agreement could follow and would need to be accompanied by talks between Russia and the West.
The mission is being launched soon after the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive which has pushed back Russian forces in some areas, although Kiev has recaptured only a fraction of the territory held by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Kiev says its own peace initiative, which envisages the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian lands, should be the basis of any post-war settlement.
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