Russia’s Putin Rebuts Key Elements of African Peace Plan for Ukraine

Russia’s Putin Rebuts Key Elements of African Peace Plan for Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with a delegation of African leaders in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 17, 2023. Yevgeny Biyatov/RIA Novosti via Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday gave African leaders seeking to mediate in the war in Ukraine a list of reasons why he believed many of their proposals were misguided, pouring cold water on a plan already largely dismissed by Kyiv.

The African leaders were seeking agreement on a series of “confidence building measures,” even as Kyiv last week began a counteroffensive to push back Russian forces from the swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine that they occupy.