Ramaphosa lauds Putin for helping bring home South Africans ensnared in Ukraine conflict
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa thanked Vladimir Putin after the SA government helped secure the return of 17 South Africans who allegedly joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine war; four have returned, 11 more are on their way home and two remain to be processed or are in transit; Ramaphosa spoke to Putin on February 10 and said the gesture would facilitate their repatriation, with SA’s embassy in Moscow continuing to monitor the one person still in hospital as recruitment investigations proceed; it is illegal in South Africa to fight as a mercenary without government authorization.
