Visiting South African leader taken to hotel bomb shelter as Russian missiles rain on Kyiv

Shortly after the air raid sirens began to wail in Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took to Twitter to express his concerns, saying Russia was indicating its inclination towards war rather than peace.

“Putin is ‘strengthening trust’ by launching the largest missile attack on Kyiv in recent weeks, precisely during the visit of African leaders to our capital,” said Kuleba.

“Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace.”

Read also: Zelenskyy talks with South Africa's president over alleged weapon supplies to Russia

As air sirens blared across Kyiv Oblast and other regions, warning of the imminent threat from incoming Russian cruise and ballistic missiles, the South African president’s office confirmed he had been in Bucha. Alongside other African leaders, President Ramaphosa visited the Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle – the site of a mass grave where 458 civilians, murdered by the Russian army, had been buried.

Despite reports of explosions in the background, a spokesperson for President Ramaphosa stated that the mission of the African leaders in Kyiv was progressing “smoothly and according to plan.” Negotiations with President Volodymyr Zelenskyyare set to begin soon, during which the African Peace Plan will be presented.

A Reuters film crew subsequently witnessed the arrival of the African leaders in Kyiv and their entry into a hotel, seeking refuge in its bomb shelter during the missile attack on the capital.

Read also: South African president wants to visit Ukraine with “peace initiative”

Ramaphosa, along with leaders from other African countries including Macky Sall of Senegal, Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, and Azali Assoumani of the Union of the Comoros, arrived in Kyiv earlier that morning by train.

Reuters reported on June 15, based on a draft document of the “peace plan,” that African leaders intend to propose that Russia withdraw a portion of its troops from Ukraine in exchange for suspending the arrest order against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and easing sanctions.

Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague in connection with suspected war crimes committed in Ukraine.

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