South Africa secures release of 11 nationals lured to Russia to fight against Ukraine

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A group of 11 South African men allegedly lured to fight alongside Russian soldiers in the war against Ukraine are expected to return home soon, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.

It will bring to 15 the number of South African nationals to have returned after four men arrived in Johannesburg last week following months fighting on the front lines in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

They were allegedly deceived into traveling to Russia under the pretense that they would receive security training.

Two other South Africans remain in Russia, with one in hospital and the other being processed before planned travel home, according to Ramaphosa, who said the repatriations have been facilitated through diplomatic channels following a commitment by Russia's President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.

“The South African government working closely with the Russian government has secured a safe return of the men. The investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into mercenary activities is ongoing,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.

At least three people are being investigated in connection with the men's recruitment to Russia, including Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma.

She has denied any wrongdoing but resigned as a lawmaker in South Africa's parliament following the claims.

South Africa’s government said in December that it had received distress calls from the men who said they were trapped in Ukraine’s war-torn eastern Donbas region.

The men, all aged between 20 and 39, had joined mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts, the government said.

Their travel to Russia appears consistent with other reports of African men who have been recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine, including over 1,000 from Kenya, according to an intelligence report presented to the Kenyan parliament last week.

Dozens of Kenyan families have in recent weeks urged the government to bring back loved ones stranded in Russia, with some allegedly forced to fight on the front lines and others held as prisoners of war in Ukraine.

Thulani Mahlangu, a spokesperson and relative of one of the four South Africans who arrived from Russia last week, told The Associated Press that the men had now been released to their homes after questioning by police.

South African citizens are prohibited to fight in foreign armed conflicts without official authorization from the government.

“They were questioned for quite sometime when they arrived here in South Africa because there is still an investigation about how the ended up in Russia. But they were released after talking to the police,” said Mahlangu.