JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI: Sou­th African President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks on Tuesday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on returning South Africans lured into fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine, his office said.

The South African government said in November it had received “distress calls” from 17 men who were trapped in the epicentre of the fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being tricked into joining mercenary forces.

“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 said in a statement.

“In this regard, teams from both sides will continue their engagements towards the finalisation of this process,” it said. Ukraine’s foreign minister said in November that more than 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries had been identified among the Russian ranks.

Kenya deplores use of citizens as ‘cannon fodder’ in war

An investigation spoke to four Kenyans recently returned from Russia who said they were tricked by a Nairobi recruitment agency into travelling to Russia under false promises of well-paying jobs. In December, Kenyan authorities said around 200 citizens had been sent to fight in Ukraine, of whom 23 had since been repatriated.

This is an underestimate, said the four Kenyan recruits. The daughter of South African former president Jacob Zuma is among several accused of recruiting men to join Russian mercenaries in the Ukraine war. Pretoria warned its citizens last year not to fall for recruitment scams, after multiple social media influencers shared campaigns promising young women jobs in a Russia-based programme that has been accused of abuses.

‘Cannon fodder’ Kenyans

Kenya on Tuesday condemned as “unacceptable” recruiters luring Kenyans to Russia with promises of lucrative jobs, only to send them to Ukraine’s front lines as “cannon fodder.”

In recent weeks, mounting reports indicate that Kenyans deceived into travelling for high-paying work in Russia are dying on the battlefield, with others sustaining serious wounds.

An investigation published this week revealed the web of deception into which four men with no military background fell — forced to sign contracts with the Russian army and swiftly sent to the front lines in Ukraine. “It’s unacceptable for them to be participants in this conflict,” junior foreign minister Korir Sing’Oei said.

The four, three of whom returned wounded, were given contracts written in Russian. One had expected to work as a salesman, two as security guards and the fourth as a high-level athlete.

“These individuals are used as cannon fodder on the war front,” Sing’Oei said. “No Kenyan would voluntarily enter into that kind of engagement.”

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2026