“The government of the Republic of South Africa announced that it had received a distress call from 17 of its citizens who were in the war-torn Donbas, prompting an investigation into their recruitment into mercenary activities”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“The South African government has received urgent messages requesting assistance in returning home from 17 South African men aged 20 to 39 who are trapped in the war-torn Donbas,” the statement said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these people into mercenary activities.
The message does not say on whose side South African citizens are fighting, but it is separately mentioned that in August, the South African government had already warned young people not to accept “fake job offers in Russia” that were circulating on social networks. The ads came after it emerged that South African women who responded to such ads were tricked into being sent to a drone factory in Alabuz.
South African authorities also reminded that South African citizens or organizations are prohibited from offering or providing military assistance to foreign countries or participating in hostilities of foreign countries without the government’s permission.
Earlier, several foreign governments announced the recruitment of their citizens by Russia for the war with Ukraine through fake job advertisements in Russia. In February 2024, it became known about thousands of recruited Nepalis.
Up to five thousand Cubans are fighting on the side of Russia: they were also recruited, promising a profitable job in Russia.
It is also known about dozens of Indians recruited into the Russian army: the Indian authorities raised the issue of them at meetings with Vladimir Putin.
Bloomberg claimed that many foreign students who came to study in Russia were offered to go to war. The Russian authorities are threatening them with not renewing their visas if they do not agree to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. The same tactics were used in relation to Africans – holders of work visas, the agency writes.