JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) – South Africa’s government said on Tuesday that 11 of a group of 17 men who were lured into fighting for Russia in Ukraine were set to return home soon, after an initial four landed back in the country last week.
A further two remained in Russia, with one in a hospital in Moscow, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement.
Ramaphosa raised the fate of the 17 men, who sent distress calls to the South African government in November after getting trapped in Ukraine’s Donbas region, in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month.
Reports of African men being lured into Russia with promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s front line have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved.
A Kenyan intelligence report presented to lawmakers last week estimated that more than 1,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight on Russia’s side in the war in Ukraine. Kenya’s foreign minister has said he plans to visit Russia to address the issue.
South Africa has sought to maintain a non-aligned stance on the conflict in Ukraine, while preserving strong ties with Moscow as a fellow BRICS member alongside Brazil, India and China.
Under South African law, it is illegal for citizens to provide military assistance to foreign governments or participate in foreign armies unless authorised to do so.
Much of the Donbas is controlled by Russian forces and fighting has been heavy there since Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago.
(Reporting by Anathi Madubela and Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alex Richardson)
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