An armored military car equipped with an electronic warfare complex and an anti-drone mesh drives along the road protected from Russian FPV drones with an anti-drone net in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on January 23, 2026. (Photo by Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto) NO USE RUSSIA. NO USE BELARUS. (Photo by Dmytro Smolienko / NurPhoto via AFP)
Eleven of the 17 South African men recruited to fight for Russia against Ukraine are set to arrive in South Africa soon.
The men were allegedly lured to join mercenary forces involved in the Ukraine-Russia war under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts.
Government confirms return plans
Four of the 17 returned home a few days ago; two remain in Russia, with one in a hospital in Moscow, while the other is being processed before finalising his travel arrangements, said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa welcomed the return of the South African men as the circumstances surrounding their recruitment remain under investigation.
“President Ramaphosa has expressed his heartfelt gratitude to President Vladimir Putin, who responded positively to his call to support the process of returning the men home,” Magwenya said on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said the South African embassy in Moscow, Russia, “will continue to monitor the individual who is in hospital until he has fully recovered to travel”.
Diplomatic intervention between Pretoria and Moscow
The men’s repatriation follows a 10 February phone call between Ramaphosa and Putin, where the heads of state pledged their support to the process of returning South Africans fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
ALSO READ: Embassy denies 17 trapped SA men were fighting for Ukraine
In November last year, the South African government received distress calls from the 17 men, aged between 20 and 39, who were trapped in the war-torn Donbas, Ukraine, and seeking help to return home.
One of the men is from the Eastern Cape, while the rest come from KwaZulu-Natal.
Harsh frontline conditions
During an interview with Reuters in December, the father of one of the men detailed the suffering his son was enduring.
The father, Dubandlela, confirmed that his son was promised training as a bodyguard, but was instead sent to fight for Russia.
“All the time, my boy is crying,” he said, adding that his son has begged him to talk to someone to get him back to South Africa.
Dubandlela said that, along with having to dig trenches almost daily in freezing weather, they didn’t get enough food or water.
“[For] maybe five days, they didn’t get any food; It’s so hard even to bathe,” he said.
NOW READ: Military recruitment case postponed to seek mutual legal assistance from Russia
About the Author
