On a 'fact-finding' mission to Ukraine, the South African opposition leader

South Africa's leading opposition leader, John Steenhuisen, is in Ukraine for a six-day fact-finding tour.

Since the commencement of the war in February, the Democratic Alliance leader is the only African politician to visit the country. Many African countries have remained neutral in the face of Russia's incursion.

Mr. Steenhuisen said he was in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, to "understand what the facts are and the factual situation on the ground," according to the BBC's Newsday program.

He slammed the South African government's decision to maintain a "veneer of neutrality" on the Ukraine conflict, alleging that the country was secretly aiding Russia.

"On the night of the invasion, our defense minister and army chief were toasting the Russian soldiers in the Russian embassy in South Africa," he claimed.

South Africa has long had links with Russia, thanks to the Soviet Union's assistance in the country's liberation effort during the apartheid era.

Mr. Steenhuisen, on the other hand, said that the Soviet Union, of which Ukraine was a member at the time, aided South Africa in its struggle against apartheid.

"It doesn't make sense that they'd use it as an excuse to sit on their hands while a humanitarian crisis rages," he said.

According to the opposition leader, the conflict in Ukraine would have an impact on food security and the pricing of basic foods in African countries.

"One out of every three slices of bread consumed in Africa and the Middle East comes from wheat produced in Ukraine and other parts of the region. So there are going to be repercussions of this for Africa," he said.