A Chinese special envoy has arrived in Ukraine as part of a Chinese-led effort to end the 15-month-old war. The envoy, Li Hui, is expected to also visit Russia, Poland, France and Germany.

Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that leaders from six African nations will soon visit Moscow and Kyiv on a peace mission. Ramaphosa said he recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

President Cyril Ramaphosa: “My discussions with the two leaders demonstrated that they are both ready to receive African leaders and to have a discussion on how this conflict can be brought to an end.”

In other news on the war, Russia is claiming it has destroyed a U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system in Kyiv that had been used earlier in the week to intercept a barrage of Russian strikes, including six hypersonic missiles. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have admitted the missile defense system had been damaged, but said it was not destroyed.

Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court has been dismissed after he was detained as part of a probe into corruption and bribery.