South Africa says it received distress calls from 17 citizens who joined mercenary forces fighting in Ukraine

Firefighters walk towards a warehouse that caught fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo)

South Africa’s government said on Thursday that it had received distress calls from 17 citizens who had joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The men are between the ages of 20 and 39 years and are trapped in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities,” South Africa’s government said in a statement.