South Africa to investigate how 17 citizens were lured into fighting in Ukraine

South Africa's government said on Thursday it had received distress calls from 17 citizens who had joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and was working to bring them home.

The men were lured into fighting under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts, the statement said. All are between the ages of 20 and 39 years and are trapped in Ukraine's war-torn Donbas region, it said.

"President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities," said the statement.

The statement did not say which side of the conflict the South Africans were fighting for.

Under South African law, it is illegal for citizens to provide military assistance to foreign governments or participate in armies of foreign governments unless authorised by the South African government, it added.

In August, South Africa's government warned young people to be wary of fake job offers in Russia, which were circulating on social media, after reports that some South African women had been tricked into making drones.