South Africa is working with Russia to repatriate its nationals trapped in the war on Ukraine after being recruited through job offers promising a better life.
Many were drawn into fighting for Moscow through employment promises but ended up on the front line of a conflict they did not choose to fight.
President Cyril Ramaphosa raised the return of South Africans fighting with Russian forces during a Tuesday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The call followed Russia’s statement that it supports a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Ukraine.
“In this regard, teams from both sides will continue their engagements towards the finalisation of this process,” the South African presidency said.
Ukraine war videos raise questions over Russia’s recruitment of Africans
Recruitment claims
The South African government said in November 2025 it had received “distress calls” from 17 men trapped in heavy fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being tricked into joining mercenary forces.
The group All Eyes on Wagner, an investigative organisation that tracks mercenary activity, released a report on Wednesday listing 1,417 fighters from 35 African countries who joined the Russian army between 2023 and mid-2025. It said 316 had died.
A December 2025 report by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) said young Africans were being lured by false promises of training and employment.
The report said Russia’s recruitment campaigns target “poor urban youth” seeking a better life, and that many realise “that Europe is an increasingly inaccessible destination”.
IFRI described Russia’s recruitment practices as a form of human trafficking.
Political accusations
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, is facing several lawsuits accusing her of recruiting South African men to fight in the war on Ukraine. Her sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube, is among those who filed a criminal complaint.
“They were fooled to fight in a terrible, barbaric war that Africa has nothing to do with,” said Olexander Scherba, Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, in November 2025. “And it’s a colonial war, so seeing Africans fighting a colonial war against a free country is especially insane.”
He added that “if it is true that some South African politicians were been involved, then it makes the whole situation even more precarious”.
Scherba also urged South Africans not to get “involved to fight in this barbaric, unfair, unjust war”.
Regional concern
In Kenya, the government condemned the use of Kenyan recruits as “cannon fodder on the war front” and estimated about 200 citizens are fighting for Russian forces.
Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi said he would travel to Moscow in March for talks aimed at “conclusively resolving the matter and identifying sustainable solutions”.
Mudavadi said he would also seek the release of Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine and verify the condition of those hospitalised.
