A Zoom call among African presidents discussing the peace mission to Ukraine had an unexpected participant. Ivor Ichikowitz, the owner of a major African arms manufacturer, emerged from the shadows.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attend a joint press conference on June 16, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Also present, officially, was Jean-Yves Ollivier, a controversial French businessman who is claiming the credit for organising the African peace mission . Ichikowitz’s Paramount Group sells weaponised drones, infantry combat vehicles, naval patrol ships and fighter jets, among other weapons systems. By the time the delegation disembarked at the Kyiv train station on Friday morning, three presidents had already dropped out .
These were caused by a Russian missile attack, which could have led to awkward questions on Saturday, when the African leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Russian authorities would have been well aware of the presence of four African presidents during the missile strike.
The Rhodes Forum is organised by Vladimir Yakunin, a former KGB officer who later served as the president of Russian Railways. He has been under United States sanctions since 2014 due to his support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Australian sanctions on Yakunin describe him as “a close personal and financial associate of Vladimir Putin”.
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