{"id":101650,"date":"2025-11-06T08:12:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T08:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/south-africa-says-17-citizens-trapped-in-donbas-after-joining-russia-ukraine-war\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T08:12:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T08:12:03","slug":"south-africa-says-17-citizens-trapped-in-donbas-after-joining-russia-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/south-africa-says-17-citizens-trapped-in-donbas-after-joining-russia-ukraine-war\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa says 17 citizens trapped in Donbas after joining Russia-Ukraine war"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is investigating the incident<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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South Africa’s government says it has received distress calls from 17 citizens who have joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.<\/p>\n

The men are between the ages of 20 and 39 years and are trapped in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.<\/p>\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa has “ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities,” a government spokesman said. The statement did not say which side of the conflict the South Africans were fighting for.<\/p>\n

Working as a mercenary or fighting on behalf of another government is illegal in South Africa, unless the government authorises it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The men were lured to join the mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative contracts, the government said. <\/p>\n

Spokesman Vincent Magwenya added the South African government is working through “diplomatic channels” to secure their return.<\/p>\n

Magwenya said 16 of the men are from KwaZulu-Natal and one is from the Eastern Cape.<\/p>\n

“President Ramaphosa and the South African government strongly condemn the exploitation of young vulnerable people by individuals working with foreign military entities,” he added. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The BBC has found evidence to suggest the Kremlin is working to expand<\/a> its sphere of influence in Africa.<\/p>\n

Africa Corps, a Russian mercenary group controlled by the Russian Ministry of Defence, has effectively replaced the rival military group Wagner in West Africa, after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash.<\/a><\/p>\n

In August, the South African government issued a warning to young women not to fall for social media recruitment opportunities promoting jobs abroad, particularly in Russia.<\/p>\n

A BBC investigation<\/a> found young women had been taken to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia to work in a drones factory. <\/p>\n

It is estimated more than 1,000 women have been recruited from across Africa and South Asia to work in Alabuga’s weapons factories. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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