JOHANNESBURG — Four South African men who were allegedly lured into fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine returned to South Africa on Wednesday, amid a widening government effort to repatriate nationals caught up in the war and to investigate recruitment networks operating from home.
South Africa’s public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), showed the men arriving at Johannesburg’s main airport before being escorted to a police holding area, underscoring that their return could trigger legal scrutiny. The presidency told AFP that the broader “process to secure the release of the men” was still ongoing, leaving unclear whether Wednesday’s arrivals were part of the 17 South Africans Pretoria previously said were trapped near the front lines.
The repatriations come just days after President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the return of South Africans drawn into the conflict. Ramaphosa’s office said both leaders pledged support for the process and that technical teams from both sides would continue engagements to finalise the men’s return. Pretoria first publicly raised alarm in November 2025, saying it had received “distress calls” from 17 men who reported being tricked into joining mercenary forces and later found themselves in Ukraine’s Donbas region, the epicentre of heavy fighting. South African authorities have since said they are investigating how the men were recruited and transported.
Under South African law, citizens are prohibited from providing foreign military assistance or serving in foreign armed forces without authorisation, offences that can carry criminal penalties. The legal framework includes statutes aimed at banning mercenary activity and regulating military-related services abroad.
The case has also become politically charged. In late 2025, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla—a daughter of former president Jacob Zuma and then an MP for the opposition uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party—resigned from parliament after allegations linked her to efforts that lured men to Russia under promises of lucrative work. She has not publicly answered the accusations; the MK party denied involvement. The Ukraine war, launched by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, has drawn foreign recruits on both sides. African governments, including South Africa’s, have increasingly warned citizens about recruitment schemes that advertise jobs or training abroad but end in coercive enlistment or deployment to combat zones.
