S. Africa Probes How Citizens Ended Up Fighting in Ukraine

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a probe into how its citizens were recruited to fight as mercenaries in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The investigation comes after 17 South Africans trapped in the Donbas region appealed for help from the South African government. Working as a mercenary or fighting on behalf of another government has been a crime in South Africa since 1998.