Ramaphosa welcomes return of SA ‘mercenaries’ from Russia-Ukraine war
· The South African
Eleven of the 17 South African men who were allegedly lured into fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war are set to return home soon.
Visit sportnewz.click for more information.
According to Ramaphosa, the men – aged between 20 and 39 – were lured by “elements that remain under investigation” and thanked Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for assisting with their return.
“President Putin had pledged his support during a telephone call with President Ramaphosa held on the 10th of February 2026,” Ramaphosa said in a statement on Tuesday.
SECOND GROUP TO RETURN, OTHERS BEING PROCESSED
This will be the second group to return, with four men already back in the country. Ramaphosa said two men remain in Russia. One is hospitalised in Moscow, while the other is being processed for his return.
“The South African embassy in Moscow will continue to monitor the individual that is in hospital until he has fully recovered to travel,” Ramaphosa said.
South African law prohibits citizens from providing military assistance to other countries unless authorised by the government.
The South African previously reported that a family member of the four men who returned earlier said they were tricked into joining the war under the false pretence of receiving training as bodyguards.
“It’s been a very difficult time and difficult journey for the families because the parents were given a wrong narrative to say that these guys were hired to be trained as bodyguards but when they got that side, they were taken into a fight in Ukraine,” said the relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
OTHER VICTIMS
The investigation came to light in November after the South African government reported receiving “distress calls” from 17 men who were trapped in the epicentre of the fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region after allegedly being tricked into joining mercenary forces.
In December, Botswana’s government launched its own investigation into two young men who were also lured into the war.
The government said the pair believed they were travelling to Russia for a short-term military training programme. It added that the young men were misled into fighting on the frontlines of the ongoing conflict.
At the time, the embassy of Ukraine in Botswana accused Russia of luring youths from across the African continent into fighting in the war through misleading offers of training, employment or other short-term opportunities.