Overview
- Presidency officials said 17 men aged 20 to 39 issued distress calls from the Donbas region after being lured by purported job offers.
- Sixteen of the men are from KwaZulu-Natal and one is from the Eastern Cape, according to a statement from the Presidency.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered an investigation into how recruiters drew the men into suspected mercenary activities.
- The government is working through diplomatic channels to secure their repatriation, with no confirmation yet of which side they were fighting for.
- The Presidency reminded citizens that the Foreign Military Assistance Act of 1998 prohibits unauthorized participation in foreign armed forces and condemned the exploitation of vulnerable young people, as reporting highlights broader allegations of deceptive recruitment linked to the war.