Four of the 17 South African men who were allegedly lured into the Russia-Ukraine war with false promises of jobs returned to the country on Wednesday, landing at O.R. Tambo International Airport where they were then whisked away by police, public broadcaster SABC reported.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa last week raised the matter directly with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation, with the latter pledging to assist in efforts to bring the men home.
Speaking in parliament, on Wednesday, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that some of the men had already arrived in the country.
“President Ramaphosa is closing in on talks with the Russian president to work together to bring back children who were sold to a private security company in southern Russia. As I speak, some of them have already returned,” Lamola said.
The men are understood to have travelled to Russia in 2025 after being offered what they believed were legitimate employment opportunities.
Instead, they were drawn into activities linked to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Some are said to have sent distress messages to families and authorities, claiming they were misled about the nature of the work and found themselves in dangerous conditions.
Government officials have been under mounting pressure from families and civil society groups to secure the return of citizens caught up in the conflict.
This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to help with the repatriation process
