South Africa launches investigation into 17 citizens fighting in Ukraine

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Men aged 20 to 39 ‘lured to join mercenary force’ in Donbas region have requested assistance to return home. 

Jethro Norman, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said the numbers of foreign fighters were “marginal on both sides”. “But symbolically, they punch far above their weight, especially in propaganda and recruitment narratives,” Norman said.

“Early in the war, foreign volunteers carried significant propaganda value, signalling international solidarity with Ukraine. Numbers appear to have declined since, but the idea of foreign fighters continues to feature prominently in social media, recruitment videos and Russian disinformation.”