WOW

Russia Bombs Kyiv as African Peace Mission Arrives in City

Officials said the Ukrainian capital was menaced by a “massive combined air attack.”

Explosions reverberated around Kyiv on Friday in what officials called a “massive” attack on the city as a delegation of African leaders arrived on a mission aiming to end the war. A witness told Reuters that at least two explosions were heard, with the Kyiv City Military Administration saying there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. “Massive combined air attack on Kyiv,” the administration announced on Telegram on Friday morning. “The enemy used ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs at the same time.” Leaders from several African countries including South Africa, Senegal, and Comoros arrived in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to encourage both Ukraine and Russia to agree to a “diplomacy-led process of negotiations” aimed at ending the war. The group had to use a hotel’s air-raid shelter at the time of the blasts, according to Reuters. They’re expected to travel to Moscow on Saturday. “Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.