South Africa negotiates return of 17 men recruited for war

The government of South Africa is negotiating the return home of 17 of its citizens who are participating in the war on the side of Russia against Ukraine. This was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian.

South Africa is seeking the return of 17 men fighting for Russia against Ukraine after they were allegedly lured to war by the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma.

The article says that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is involved in several lawsuits. In particular, she is suspected of luring 17 South African and two Botswana men to Russia in July. The men were told that they would be trained as bodyguards for her father's political party or attend personal development courses.

A spokesman for the current president of South Africa commented on the situation Cyril Ramaphosa Vincent Magvenia.

"The process of returning these young people remains very delicate. They are in a dangerous situation. Their lives are in grave danger, and we are still in talks with various authorities in both Russia and Ukraine to find out how we can get them out of this situation," he said.

"In fact, the focus is on the Russian authorities, not the Ukrainian authorities, because, according to the information we have, they were mistakenly drawn into the Russian armed forces," Magvenia said.

He added that interaction with Russia is ongoing and that this issue is "given the maximum possible attention in our government." The Russian Embassy in South Africa did not respond to a request for comment.

The media reports that Zuma-Sambudla filed her own police report, claiming that she was deceived by another person involved in the case. She said that the person had tricked her into recruiting men to participate in what she thought was a legitimate paramilitary training course that she was attending.

• In November, the South African government announced that 17 of its citizens are stuck in the Donbas after they were deceived into fighting for Russia under the pretext of lucrative labor contracts.
• Subsequently, the daughter of the former South African resigned from her post from parliament over allegations that she lured 17 men to fight for Russia.
• In December, South Africa detained five citizens as part of an investigation into the recruitment of 17 men for war.