Ramaphosa thanks Putin for release of South Africans lured into Russia-Ukraine war

SOUTH KOREA: South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for helping to secure the return of 17 South Africans allegedly tricked into joining the Russia-Ukraine war.

Last November, the South African government said it had received distress calls from the group of men who had joined mercenary forces in the conflict.

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The men believed they were going to Russia for bodyguard training but instead ended up on the front line of the war in Ukraine.

Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that four of them had returned last Friday, 11 others would be “on their way home soon” and another two at a later stage. An investigation into their recruitment was ongoing, it added.