Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to assist in efforts to bring home 17 South African men caught in the Russia-Ukraine war. (Russian Embassy in South Africa/X)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to assist in efforts to bring home 17 South African men caught in the Russia-Ukraine war. This comes after a phone call with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday.
In a statement released by the presidency, Ramaphosa expressed South Africa’s continued support for diplomatic and peaceful efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and outlined discussions with Putin on bilateral relations in international forums, among them Brics and the G20.
During the call, both leaders pledged support for the process of repatriating the South Africans who fought alongside Russian forces, the presidency said, adding: “In this regard, teams from both sides will continue their engagements towards the finalisation of this process.”
The 17 men found themselves in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region after being allegedly lured to Russia under false pretences by uMkhonto weSizwe leader Jacob Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla. She reportedly played a role in facilitating their travel and recruitment. Zuma-Sambudla has denied being involved.
According to government and family accounts, the men were promised legitimate employment, including security training or jobs.However, they were signed up with Russian military forces and thrust into active combat.
The men’s plight first drew attention in November, when the South African government said it had received distress calls from them, seeking help to return home. Families of the men, many of whom are from KwaZulu-Natal and one from the Eastern Cape, have appealed to the government to intervene.
During a media briefing in Durban on Tuesday, relatives painted an agonising picture of their loved ones’ plight, saying communication had dwindled to sporadic WhatsApp messages and some of the men had been seriously injured, one of them reportedly paralysed.
The situation has also triggered an investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) into the recruitment network that brought the men to Russia.
Authorities are probing whether they were misled and exploited in violation of the Foreign Military Assistance Act, which prohibits citizens from joining foreign military forces without state authorisation.
Discussion about this post