JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate the return of South Africans who were lured into fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine, the South African presidency said.
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The government said it had received “distress calls” from 17 men trapped in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being misled into joining Russian mercenary forces. Ramaphosa and Putin “pledged their support to the process of returning South Africans fighting alongside Russian forces,” according to a statement, adding that bilateral teams will continue engagements to finalize repatriation.
🇷🇺🇿🇦President #Putin spoke over the phone with President of South Africa @CyrilRamaphosa
Two leaders discussed deepening trade & investment ties & #Russia–#SouthAfrica Strategic Partnership.
C.Ramaphosa also expressed support for Russia’s political-diplomatic efforts on Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ozT1NXtXla
— Russian Embassy in South Africa 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) February 10, 2026
Ukraine’s foreign minister previously said more than 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries had been identified among Russian ranks. In Kenya, authorities have reported similar cases, warning that citizens were being exploited as “cannon fodder.” Around 200 Kenyans were sent to fight in Ukraine, with 23 already repatriated. Investigations revealed that some recruits were promised high-paying jobs in Russia, only to be forced into frontline combat, often under contracts written in Russian.
The daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma is reportedly among those accused of recruiting men for Russian forces. Pretoria had warned citizens against recruitment scams after social media campaigns targeted young Africans with lucrative job offers.
Kenya’s junior foreign minister Korir Sing’Oei condemned the practice, saying the deception and coercion of citizens into combat roles are “unacceptable” and highlighting that recruits often had no military experience. Some of those returned were wounded, while others lost their lives.
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The South African and Kenyan cases underscore growing concerns over African citizens being manipulated into foreign conflicts, prompting urgent diplomatic engagement to secure their safe return.