At least two explosions have rocked Kyiv amid the blare of air raid sirens as African leaders begin a peace mission, hoping to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.
The African delegation, which includes leaders from South Africa, Senegal, the Comoros and Egypt, was expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and then hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Saturday.
A Reuters witness in central Kyiv said he heard two explosions.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko also reported explosions in the central Podil district and warned more missiles were headed toward the capital.
Another Reuters correspondent in the capital saw the smoke trail of two missiles in the air.
It was not clear if those missiles were fired by Russia or by Ukrainian air defences.
A Reuters television crew saw the African leaders arriving in Kyiv in a convoy of cars and entering a hotel to use its air-raid shelter.
The all-clear was later issued for Kyiv, and the South African presidency tweeted the mission was “proceeding well and as planned”.
Ukraine’s air force said it had downed six “Kinzhal” ballistic missiles, six cruise missiles and two drones.
City authorities said they had received no reports of deaths or serious damage so far, but police said there were an unspecified number of casualties.
The air attack was the latest of many launched by Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Moscow has increased their frequency since Ukraine began preparations for a counteroffensive that is now under way.
“Putin ‘builds confidence’ by launching the largest missile attack on Kyiv in weeks, exactly amid the visit of African leaders to our capital,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
“Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace.”
Reuters was unable to confirm that it was the biggest air strike on the capital in weeks, and Russia did not immediately comment on the events in Kyiv.
The African leaders had begun their visit with a trip to Bucha, near Kyiv, which is one several places where Ukraine says Russian troops committed large-scale atrocities following their full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia denies the allegations.
The African peace mission, which includes South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegal’s President Macky Sall, could propose a series of “confidence-building measures” during initial efforts at mediation, a draft framework document seen by Reuters says.
The document says the objective of the mission is “to promote the importance of peace and to encourage the parties to agree to a diplomacy-led process of negotiations”.
Those measures could include a Russian troop pull-back, removal of tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspension of the implementation of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant targeting Putin, and sanctions relief, it indicated.
A cessation of hostilities agreement could follow and would need to be accompanied by negotiations between Russia and the West, the document stated.
Kyiv says its own peace initiative, which envisages the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian land, must be the basis for any settlement of the war.