News24 | Conned into combat: How 17 South Africans landed up fighting for Russia in its war on Ukraine

​Seventeen young men left Johannesburg bound for Russia on 8 July 2025 for training as bodyguards for former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party. They soon discovered they were destined for the frontlines in Russia’s war on Ukraine. So far, there has been no success in bringing them back home.