South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have discussed the repatriation of South Africans fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

SOUTH AFRICA: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

The discussions centred on returning South Africans lured into fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine.

“President Ramaphosa and President Putin pledged their support to the process of returning South Africans fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine,” the president’s office stated. Teams from both sides will continue engagements to finalise the process.

The South African government reported receiving “distress calls” from 17 trapped men last November. They were allegedly tricked into joining mercenary forces in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said in November that over 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries had been identified among Russian ranks. This issue extends beyond South Africa’s borders.

An AFP investigation spoke to four recently returned Kenyans who said they were deceived by a Nairobi recruitment agency. They travelled to Russia under false promises of well-paying jobs.

Kenyan authorities said around 200 citizens had been sent to fight in Ukraine by December. Only 23 had been repatriated at that time.

The four Kenyan recruits who spoke to AFP said this number was an underestimate. The daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma is among several accused of recruiting men for the war.

Pretoria warned its citizens last year not to fall for recruitment scams. The warning followed social media campaigns promising young women jobs in a Russia-based programme accused of abuses.

 The Sun Malaysia