African leaders visit Russia to discuss their peace plan with Putin, after Ukraine trip

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17 is set to host a group of African leaders who have traveled to Russia on a self-styled “peace mission” the day after they went to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17 is set to host a group of African leaders who have traveled to Russia on a self-styled “peace mission” the day after they went to Ukraine.

Seven African leaders — presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, as well as Egypt’s prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda — visited Ukraine on June 16 to try to help end the nearly 16-month-old war.

The African leaders then traveled to St. Petersburg June 17 to meet with Mr. Putin who is attending a business forum in Russia's second-largest city.

Speaking at the forum on Friday, Mr. Putin declared that the first Russian tactical nuclear weapons have been deployed to Belarus, describing the move as a deterrent against Western efforts to defeat Russia in Ukraine. He previously said that the deployment would begin in July.

Asked if he could order the use of battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Mr. Putin said that there was no need for that but noted that Moscow could use its nuclear arsenals in case of a “threat to the Russian statehood.”

“In that case, we will certainly use all the means that the Russian state has. There should be no doubt about that," he said.

The mission to Ukraine, the first of its kind by African leaders, comes in the wake of other peace initiatives — such as one by China — and carries particular importance for Africa, which relies on food and fertilizer deliveries from Russia and Ukraine. The war has impeded exports from one of the world’s most important breadbaskets.