Africa must not blow hot and cold on Ukraine war

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula(right) present a gift to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who paid him a courtesy call at Parliament on May 29th, 2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Kenya's stand on the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine is well known. In a speech delivered during the UN General Assembly on February 21 last year, Kenya's UN Ambassador Martin Kimani told Russia to respect its border with Ukraine, and warned of the dangers of stoking the "embers of dead empires".

But that did not deter Russia from invading Ukraine three days later on February 24, a move that was greeted by global condemnation. The war in Ukraine has raged on for more than a year now, causing thousands of deaths, displacement of tens of thousands and massive destruction. There are no signs that fighting will abate soon.