S.African mercenaries in Ukraine send 'distress calls'

In this handout photograph taken and released by the press service of the 65th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces. [AFP]

The South African government has received pleas from 17 citizens who had joined mercenary forces fighting in Ukraine's war-ravaged Donbas region to help bring them home, the presidency said Thursday.

The war that started with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has drawn in mercenaries on both sides, including from several African countries.