Seventeen South African men are trapped in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being misled into joining mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine war, leading President Cyril Ramaphosa to order an investigation and seek their safe return through diplomatic means.
The South African government has confirmed receiving distress calls from 17 citizens stranded in the war-torn Donbas area of eastern Ukraine. These individuals, aged between 20 and 39, were recruited into mercenary groups involved in the ongoing conflict. President Cyril Ramaphosa has launched a formal investigation into how these young men were recruited, with initial reports suggesting they were lured by promises of high-paying jobs abroad, only to find themselves in dangerous combat zones with no easy way out.
According to government spokesman Vincent Magwenya, the men made urgent calls for assistance, highlighting their precarious situation in one of the most intense battlegrounds of the war. Most of the stranded individuals—16—hail from KwaZulu-Natal province, while one is from the Eastern Cape. This geographic distribution points to broader socio-economic issues in South Africa, where high unemployment rates, particularly among youth, create vulnerabilities that exploitative recruiters can target.
Fighting as mercenaries for foreign powers is illegal under South African law unless explicitly authorized by the government. Ramaphosa and his administration have condemned the exploitation of vulnerable citizens by entities linked to foreign military operations, emphasizing that such activities not only endanger lives but also violate international norms and national security protocols. The president has reiterated the government’s commitment to protecting its citizens from being coerced or deceived into participating in external conflicts.
This incident is not isolated; it follows a pattern of similar recruitment schemes targeting Africans. In August, the South African government warned young women against social media job offers in Russia, after investigations revealed that hundreds of African women had been trafficked to work in drone factories under false pretenses. A BBC investigation uncovered that many were taken to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, Russia, to produce military equipment, with estimates suggesting over 1,000 women from Africa and South Asia have been recruited for such work.
Moreover, in September, Kenyan police rescued more than 20 people from a suspected trafficking ring that promised jobs in Russia but intended to send them to fight in Ukraine. This highlights a broader trend of human trafficking and mercenary recruitment in the context of the Ukraine war, affecting multiple African nations.
Internationally, the use of foreign fighters has led to diplomatic friction. Ukraine has previously faced criticism for attempts to recruit Africans, leading to disputes with countries like Senegal and Nigeria. In 2022, Senegal summoned Ukraine’s ambassador over a Facebook post encouraging foreigners to enlist, and Nigeria issued warnings that forced Kyiv to retract its recruitment efforts. On the other side, Russia’s Africa Corps, controlled by the Russian Ministry of Defence, has replaced the Wagner Group in West Africa, expanding Moscow’s influence on the continent and raising concerns about geopolitical manipulation.
The South African government is now actively working through diplomatic channels to secure the safe return of the 17 men, while the investigation aims to identify and dismantle the networks responsible for their recruitment. This proactive stance is part of a larger effort to prevent future incidents and address the underlying economic disparities that make individuals susceptible to such schemes. Ramaphosa has called for enhanced international cooperation to combat human trafficking and mercenary exploitation in conflict zones, advocating for stronger protections for vulnerable populations worldwide.