Four SA men return from Ukraine war zone, police probing recruitment network

By Akani Nkuna

Four of a group of 17 South African men have returned home after they were lured abroad with promises of high-paying jobs in Russia, but later found themselves caught up in the war in Ukraine’s Donbas region, where they were forced to fight alongside Russian forces.

The men, who previously sent a distress signal to the South African government saying they were trapped in a war zone, arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport on Wednesday, where they were met by a strong police presence.

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Police said they had launched an investigation into the alleged recruitment networks and are working to expedite processes linked to the safe return of the remaining men.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a former UMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party Member of Parliament and daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, is alleged to have facilitated the men’s deployment