Speaking before his departure on Sunday, Jokowi said he would visit Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and seek an end to the Russo-Ukrainian war, which has caused global food shortages and surges in commodity prices.

“[The mission is to] to build peace, because the war must be stopped and [its effects] on the food supply chain must be lifted,” Jokowi said.

Indonesia, along with numerous other countries, has condemned the war, but it did not accede to calls from other Group of 20 member states to use its power as this year’s group president to bar Russia from attending the G20 Summit in Bali later this year. Jokowi instead invited both Russian and Ukrainian leaders to join the summit.

From Ukraine, Jokowi will travel to Moscow for a similar meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Once again, with the same mission, I will invite President Putin to open a dialogue and, as soon as possible, to carry out a ceasefire and stop the war,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi’s Europe trip will start in Germany, where he is set to attend a meeting of the G7 countries in the Bavarian Alps from June 26 to 28 at the invitation of the host country. He will be accompanied by First Lady Iriana.

The President said peace talks for the Russo-Ukrainian war would remain in focus during the G7 meeting. 

“We will encourage and invite the G7 countries to work together to broker peace in Ukraine and also to find an urgent solution to deal with the food and energy crisis that is engulfing the world,” Jokowi said.

The G7 is a subset of the G20 consisting of the group’s most economically developed liberal democracies.

Read also: Jokowi to visit Ukraine, Russia in diplomatic blitz

AFP reported that the G7 meeting in the Bavarian Alps would take stock of the effectiveness of sanctions imposed so far against Moscow, consider possible new aid for Kyiv and begin developing longer-term reconstruction plans.

The summit opened with the announcement of a ban on imports of Russian gold and an appeal by US President Joe Biden for a unified approach, saying, "We have to stay together.”

Ripple effect

Before his departure, Jokowi claimed his effort to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine was crucial not only for Indonesia but also for other developing countries, which he said were vulnerable to ripple effects from the war.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has choked global markets and contributed to a surge in the price of basic commodities such as meat, dairy products, cereals, sugar and vegetable oils.

While the impact of this surge has been somewhat limited in Indonesia, it did prompt the government to temporarily impose an export ban on palm oil products.

“These visits are not only important for Indonesians but also for [other] developing countries in order to prevent the people of developing and low-income countries from falling into extreme poverty and hunger,” Jokowi said.

Read also: Jokowi seeks to ‘unite’ G20 in talks with Ukraine, Russia

Separately, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said food and fertilizer products from Russia and Ukraine needed to be "reintegrated into the global market, despite the war", Reuters reported.

"It is necessary to secure a grain corridor from Ukraine and open food and fertilizer exports from Russia. All countries must refrain from actions that further exacerbate this food crisis," she said in a statement on Sunday, as quoted by Reuters.

Russian encroachment

Jokowi’s peace mission has coincided with an increase in Russian attacks against Ukraine. On Sunday, Russia managed to capture Ukraine’s key industrial hub of Severodonetsk following a flurry of missile strikes, AFP reported.

The fall of the city in the embattled Donbas region marks an important strategic win for Moscow, which is seeking full control over the east of the country after failing in its early objectives.

Far from Donbas, meanwhile, more missiles were striking targets in northern and western Ukraine.

The European Union offered a strong show of support on Thursday when it granted Ukraine candidate status, although the path to membership is long.

The Russian invasion, which has continued without pause since February, had killed more than 4,000 people and injured nearly 6,000 as of June 19, according to an estimate by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Russian missiles hit an apartment block and kindergarten Kyiv on Sunday, Reuters reported, the city where Jokowi is later expected to meet Zelensky. US President Biden has condemned the attacks as "barbarism".

Ukraine's police chief, Ihor Klymenko, said on national television that five people had been wounded, and police later said one person was killed.