In June 2023, facing a grain shortage, several African leaders traveled to Ukraine and Russia to seek an end to the war in Ukraine.The African peace delegation proposed a 10-point plan for deescalating the war.
In Kyiv, Russian missiles rained down as they met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He told them that peace was not possible while Russian forces were in Ukraine's territory.
In St. Petersburg, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told Russian President Vladimir Putin "the war must end."
However, Putin blamed Zelenskyy for the war and lashed out at the West for supporting Ukraine.
The peace mission was greeted with skepticism in Africa, where conflicts in Sudan, Tigray in Ethiopia, and the eastern Congo were raging or still simmering.
The African peace mission has remained largely silent since its widely publicized trip to the war-torn conflict zone in June 2023.