Zelenskyy urges African leaders to pressure Putin on political prisoners

The African leaders were traveling to meet Mr Putin on Saturday in the Russian city of St Petersburg

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa attend a press conference (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to a group of African leaders to ask Vladimir Putin to free political prisoners from Crimea and beyond, saying it would be an “important step” during their trip to Russia on Saturday.

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 Friday as part of a self-styled “peace mission” to try to help end the nearly 16-month-old war.