Experts say Ukraine seeks ‘more friends’

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With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to South Africa come and gone, international relations experts say the trip was Kyiv’s attempt at “projecting soft power”.

This comes ater Zelensky met with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday at the Union Buildings.

Zelensky offers deeper ties during South Africa trip

During his visit to South Africa, Zelensky told Ramaphosa that Ukraine was ready to cooperate with South Africa in agriculture, trade, power generation and security technology. One of his proposals was the establishment of a joint mineral hub to produce and transport fertilisers across Africa.

Professor Christopher Isike, who is director of the African Centre for the Study of the United States at the University of Pretoria, told The South African that these projects were being offered “in good faith”.

“Ukraine is trying to forge friendship and understanding with the continent in order to shore up its image in Africa by projecting some kind of soft power.”

He continued:

“It is willing to use these offers to achieve that aim, realising now that it needs more friends, especially in geographies where it has never really had any. These are all done in good faith to align itself with South-South cooperation.”

Visit marks an improvement in South Africa-Ukraine relations

Zelensky’s visit to South Africa is the first by a Ukrainian head of state. In 2023, Ramaphosa led the African Peace Initiative, which saw African leaders presenting a peace proposal to both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky’s South Africa trip is the culmination of Ukraine’s attempts to deepen ties with African nations, many of which did not support a United Nations resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Some observers were expecting Ramaphosa to invite Ukraine to be an observer at the G20, which South Africa currently leads until 30 November 2025. However, no invitation was forthcoming during Zelensky’s South Africa trip.

But Isike believes that the invitation is not off the table. He said:

“I think it will come as the Ukrainians want that and many members of the G20 also would not mind that. Pretoria is now treading more cautiously than it has ever done since 1994, given how its fingers have been burnt by actions and inactions in the last three years.”

Attack on Kyiv during Zelensky’s South Africa visit was ‘deliberate’

However, Zelensky cut his visit to South Africa short. This was so he could rush back to Ukraine after a large-scale Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The timing of this attack, on the eve of Zelensky’s meeting with Ramaphosa, caused some debate.

“The Russian attack is not a coincidence; it was deliberate,” said Isike. “The message may not necessarily be to South Africa but to Kyiv at a time when it is vulnerable, not only with almost no US support but with the president’s absence from home in faraway South Africa.”

Both Zelensky and Ramaphosa denied that there was any correlation between Zelensky’s visit to South Africa and the attack. However, in remarks to the media, Zelensky noted, “Surely Putin doesn’t like Ukraine’s presence in Africa.”

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Stefan Wolff, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham, described the attack on Kyiv as primarily “retaliation” against an earlier Ukrainian attack on Russia.

Is there an end to the Russia-Ukraine war in sight?

Isike said the attack was also Moscow signalling to the US that it’s doubling down on its position regarding the peace process. President Trump has been unable to successfully negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. In a call prior to Zelensky’s arrival at the Union Buildings, Trump and Ramaphosa discussed the need for peace.

During Zelensky’s South Africa trip, both he and Ramaphosa agreed on the importance of an unconditional ceasefire that would allow the countries to hold negotiations on ending the war. However, in his call with Ramaphosa earlier this week, Putin emphasised the need to ensure Russia’s security. The plans previously presented by the US have offered conditional ceasefires.

Any hope for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war? Wolff told Newzroom Afrika that it was “hard to predict”, largely because of flip-flopping from the White House.

However, with Trump’s 100th day in office coming up on 30 April, he may push to have something to show his electorate.

Nevertheless, Wolff said: “We should not kid ourselves that this, in any way, brings us closer to a permanent peace agreement.”