Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy met heads of state and legislators in Singapore late on Saturday and early on Sunday, seeking security assistance and support for a peace summit after arriving for a surprise visit to the Shangri-La Dialogue.

On the social media platform X, Zelenskiy said he had met Indonesia's president-elect, Prabowo Subianto; a delegation from the U.S. Congress; and the president of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta.

"It is very important for us to begin the process of establishing a just peace," Zelenskiy said. "Russia does not want to end the war. Therefore, we must work together with the entire world to bring peace closer."

He said Ramos-Horta had agreed to attend the summit, scheduled for mid-June in Switzerland. At last year's Shangri-La Dialogue, Prabowo had proposed an Indonesian plan for ending the war in Ukraine.

In an address to delegates on Sunday, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun said his country had been careful not to support either Russia or Ukraine.

"On the Ukraine crisis, China has been promoting peace talks with a responsible attitude," he said. "We have never provided weapons to either party of the conflict. We have put strict controls on exports of dual-use items, and have never done anything to fan the flames. We stand firmly on the side of peace and dialogue."

Russia has not attended the security summit in Singapore since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Zelenskiy and his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, will also meet U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday on the sidelines of the conference, a U.S. defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

They will discuss the current battlefield situation in Ukraine and Austin will "underscore U.S. commitment to ensuring Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression," the official said.

Zelenskiy is also scheduled to speak at the security summit's final discussion session on Sunday on "Re-Imagining Solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability."

Ukraine is facing a renewed assault from Russian forces, particularly around the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The United States recently relaxed restrictions on the use of U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, which experts say will help Ukraine blunt attacks before they gather momentum.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, organised by the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies, ends on Sunday. 

At least 34 people, including two babies were killed when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames in southern Benin near the border with Nigeria on Saturday.

According to Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, “a serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji. Another 20 people were seriously wounded in the incident.”

"I can't really give you the cause of the fire, but there is a large gasoline warehouse here and cars, tricycles and motorcycles come from morning to evening,” he added.

Nigeria is a main oil and gas producer where fuel smuggling is very common along its borders, particularly when the government maintains a subsidy to keep fuel prices low.

The majority of the victims were burnt and they could not be not be identified.

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