President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Kiev as part of a delegation of African leaders to Ukraine and Russia.

But his trip hit a snag last night, when his security detail was left stranded in the Polish capital, Warsaw.

News 24 assistant editor, Pieter du Toit, who is travelling with the security detail, reports that they have been left stranded on the tarmac at the airport for several hours.

He says that General Wally Rhoode has been engaged with Polish authorities, who are reportedly frustrating the situation.

Rhoode says that the South Africans have all the necessary documents, yet the Poles keep asking for different ones.

The delegation was meant to travel with the president via train to Ukraine.

President Ramaphosa is now travelling with a downscaled security team.

He is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later today.

Meanwhile half of the African heads of state did not travel to Eastern Europe for the meeting.

Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says that the presidents of Congo, Egypt, and Uganda have sent their representatives instead.

The delegation will then head to St Petersburg, in Russia, where they will engage with President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.

President Ramaphosa says that the Peace Mission brings an African perspective on how to address the conflict in Ukraine and Russia.