The Russian Armed Forces launched this Friday a new wave of attacks on the Ukrainian capital, kyivwhere the anti-aircraft sirens have sounded and the authorities have confirmed explosions as a result of the destruction of six Russian Kinzhal missiles. The attack comes as African leaders begin their peace mission in Ukraine.
Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, has confirmed an explosion in the Podilski neighborhood. “Missiles continue to fly over kyiv,” he said on his Telegram account. The Armed Forces have notified the population so that go down to the sheltersshortly after warning of the firing of ballistic missiles from the Black Sea.
The African delegation, which includes leaders from South Africa, Senegal, the Comoros and Egypt, plans to meet this Friday with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, and, on Saturday, hold talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Saint Petersburg. The South African Presidency office has confirmed that the mission is “proceeding well and as planned”.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian Attorney General Andriy Kostin visit a mass grave in the town of Bucha.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dimitri Kuleba, has linked the latest attack to the foreign visit: “Putin seeks confidence by launching the biggest missile attack in weeks.” “Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace,” he denounced on Twitter.
A Reuters witness in central kyiv said heard two explosions. Another Reuters correspondent in the capital saw the trail of smoke from two missiles in the air. A Reuters television crew watched African leaders arrive in kyiv in a convoy of cars and enter a hotel to use his bomb shelter.
[La guerra oculta de Rusia: así trabajan en África los mercenarios de Putin para lograr materias primas]
Subsequently, the kyiv City Military Administration said that six Kinzhal missiles had been destroyed. “Massive combined airstrike on kyiv. The enemy used ballistic (Kinzhal), cruise and drone missiles at the same time,” he said in a statement.
The Ukrainian defenses, the note continues, “successfully destroyed six Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, six Kalibr cruise missiles and two drones of recognition”. For the moment, no known casualties or property damage as a result of the attack, the source added.
Today’s attack is one of the most massive launched in broad daylight in recent months by Russia, which usually attacks kyiv with missiles and drones at dawn.
peace proposal
The leaders had started their visit with a trip to Bucha, near kyiv, which is one of several places where Ukraine says Russian troops committed large-scale atrocities after their full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia denies the accusations.
The African peacekeeping mission could propose a series of “confidence building measures“during initial mediation efforts, according to a draft framework document seen by Reuters.
The document states that the objective of the mission is “promote the importance of peace and encourage the parties to accept a process of negotiations led by diplomacy”.
Such measures could include withdrawal of Russian troopsthe withdrawal of tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, the suspension of the execution of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against Putin and the sanctions reliefindicates the document.
This could be followed by an agreement cease-firewhich should be accompanied by negotiations between Russia and the West, according to the document.
The mission is launched shortly after the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive which has pushed back Russian forces in some areas, although kyiv has only recaptured a fraction of the territory that Russian forces occupy in Ukraine.
