South Africa says 2 of its nationals died fighting for Russia in Ukraine after recruitment scheme

South African men who were allegedly tricked into fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine are escorted by police officers as they arrive at King Shaka International Airport in Durban, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Str)

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — At least two South Africans have died fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine after being tricked into traveling there by a recruitment scheme, South Africa’s foreign minister said Thursday.

It was the first time South African authorities had confirmed any of their citizens who were allegedly lured to Russia with false promises of employment or training opportunities had been killed in the war.

Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola didn’t name the two people who died or say when or where they had died, but the Foreign Ministry said their families had been informed.

Lamola’s announcement came after he traveled to the east coast city of Durban to visit the families of 11 South Africans who returned home on Wednesday after they were allegedly recruited last year in a scheme promising them security training in Russia and ended up involved in the conflict in Ukraine.

Four men caught up in the same scheme had previously been repatriated, while two remained in Russia with “severe injuries,” Lamola said.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, is being investigated by police for alleged involvement in luring those 17 men to Russia. She denied any wrongdoing but resigned as a lawmaker in November over the allegations. She is one of at least five people under investigation for sending the men to Russia, according to South African authorities.

Lamola said the two people who died were not connected to the group allegedly recruited by Zuma-Sambudla, but they were “part of another recruitment drive or another scheme that took them there.”

“The law must take its course,” Lamola said regarding the cases of the 17 men who were allowed to leave the front lines in Ukraine after diplomatic negotiations between South Africa and Russia. “Everyone who is involved in this scheme must be held accountable and there must be consequences.”

Ukraine has said it believes more than 1,700 Africans have been recruited to fight for Russia and several African nations have said some of their citizens have been tricked into fighting for Russia by offers of lucrative jobs or skills training.

An intelligence report presented to parliament in Kenya last week said that 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia after being misled with false promises of jobs in the country before being sent to the front lines.

The Kenyan government said that at least 89 Kenyans were still on the front line in Ukraine, 39 were hospitalized, 28 were missing in action, and others had returned home. It has confirmed one death.

A man in Kenya was arrested and charged on Thursday with trafficking 25 Kenyans to Russia last year in an alleged scheme that duped them into fighting for Russia.

Two Nigerians were killed late last year fighting for Russia, Ukraine’s intelligence agency said this month.

The Democratic Alliance political party in South Africa said it had evidence in the form of around 100 WhatsApp messages showing that the South African men allegedly recruited by Zuma-Sambudla were promised “security training” and the chance of gaining Russian or Canadian citizenship.

But their passports and clothing were burned when they arrived in Russia, their cellphones were confiscated, and they were sent to the Donetsk region of Ukraine to fight as part of the Russian forces, the Democratic Alliance said.

Russia’s recruitment network has spread to other continents. An Associated Press investigation in January found that workers in Bangladesh were lured to Russia under the false promise of civilian work, only to be thrust into the chaos of combat in Ukraine. Many were threatened with violence, imprisonment or death.

Another AP investigation in 2024 found that African women were also duped into being part of the Russian war effort and sent to work in a factory assembling attack drones to be used against Ukraine. They were lured by social media adverts offering work-study programs.

The Russia-Ukraine war marked its four-year anniversary this week and Russia has been seeking to replenish its forces, partly by recruiting fighters from other countries.

Gerald Imray, The Associated Press