Ukraine war: African peace plan, counteroffensive casualties, flooding death toll

Russian officials have given a lukewarm reception to a peace plan presented in St Petersburg yesterday by a delegation of African leaders – but say that Vladimir Putin is considering it nonetheless.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the three-hour meeting that the Africans' peace plan consisted of 10 elements, but “was not formulated on paper.”

“The main conclusion, in my opinion, from today’s conversation is that our partners from the African Union have shown an understanding of the true causes of the crisis that was created by the West, and have shown an understanding that it is necessary to get out of this situation on the basis of addressing these underlying causes,” Lavrov said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while the plan would be "difficult to implement", Putin "has shown interest" in it.

“Not all provisions can be correlated with the main elements of our position," Peskov said, "but this does not mean that we do not need to continue working."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked all the "strong and courageous" soldiers fighting the Russian invasion on Father's Day Sunday, hoping they would all be able to return from the front one day.

"Thank you to every Ukrainian father, to every Ukrainian family for your strong and courageous soldiers who have defended Ukraine's independence and are fighting for Ukraine's life," Zelensky said.

He posted a video made by United24, a donation collection platform he set up, showing Ukrainian soldiers returning home and hugging children.

"I hope your fathers live long and healthy lives. And that every father on the front line can come home", he added.

Russia and Ukraine are suffering high numbers of military casualties as Ukraine fights to dislodge the