Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was hit by another Russian air attack overnight which officials in the city described as exceptional in its intensity and involved drones, cruise and, likely, ballistic missiles.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported multiple explosions in the city on social media; he stated that rocket and drone debris had damaged buildings and cars and started fires.

The attack came as a top Chinese envoy is set to begin a two-day visit to Ukraine as Beijing tries to position itself as a peace broker between Ukraine and Russia.

China’s special representative on Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, is also set to visit Poland, France, Germany and Russia as part of Beijing’s bid to foster talks “on a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis,” its foreign ministry said last week.

• Russia has yet to decide if it will extend the terms of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal that launched a sea corridor for agricultural exports.

The deal is due to expire on May 18.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “there were still a lot of open questions” when asked about a potential extension of the agreement.

“When the appropriate decision is made, we will inform you, this is the only thing I can say so far,” he said during a daily press briefing.

The Initiative eased Russia’s naval blockade and saw the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports. Since then, more than 900 ships carrying nearly 30 million metric tons of agricultural products have departed from Ukraine’s ports.

Moscow previously said that the deal is one-sided and that it is not inclined to extend the current agreement.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have agreed to meet with a delegation of African leaders for talks over a potential peace plan, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa claimed.

In a joint press briefing with the Singaporean prime minister in Cape Town, Ramaphosa said Putin and Zelenskyy had expressed their desire to host a mission of African heads of state in Moscow and Kyiv. This will include leaders of Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa.

South Africa has come under fire for its staunch commitment to neutrality on the war in Ukraine, having hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in January and held a joint military operation with Russia and China in February.

• Ukraine has removed barriers to the export of some agricultural commodities, imposed last year to prevent food shortages, in a bid to boost foreign currency income, its government said.

The country introduced export licences in 2022 to protect food supplies after agricultural production was hit by Russia’s invasion. While licensing did not ban exports, it made them much more difficult.

The government said it would lift the requirement for export licences for live cattle, frozen cattle meat, chicken meat, eggs, rye, oats, millet and some other commodities.

UPDATE ON FIGHTERS

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hinted that the government would soon issue an update regarding the provision of modern fighter jets for Ukraine.

“Stay tuned for news — there will be even more soon, specifically regarding aircraft,” Kuleba said on social media.

“Currently, intensive diplomacy is taking place at all levels, bringing us closer to effectively closing the Ukrainian airspace, significantly strengthening our Air Forces, and acquiring fundamentally new capabilities,” Kuleba stated.

Kyiv has been asking its Western allies for fighter jets, specifically for the American F-16s, for months but so far its international partners have been reluctant to donate fighter jets, citing logistical challenges and concerns it could antagonize Russia.

Kuleba said that he already has a rough understanding of the timeframe but did not disclose this.

Ukraine’s President Volodymy Zelenskyy has visited Italy, Germany, France, and the UK in the last few days, looking to build a “jets coalition”. 

The UK said it would help train Ukrainian pilots in the summer and would try to help Ukraine in such a coalition, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said Monday that Britain has no plans to send fighter jets to Ukraine.

In any case, the spokesman said, the Ukrainian military indicated it would prefer to use F-16 fighter jets “and you will know the RAF don’t use those,” he said.