African Leaders Meet With Putin, Call for End to Ukraine War Amid Nuclear Threats and Limited Progress

African leaders traveled to Russia to urge Vladimir Putin to help end the war in Ukraine that is negatively impacting countries in Africa
The leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before talking with Putin in Saint Petersburg, but little progress was made
Russia's foreign minister said the peace plan proposed by the African delegation would be difficult to implement
Putin blamed the West and Ukraine for starting the conflict and exacerbating global food prices
Putin claimed Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in response to Western support for Ukraine