Russia used online gaming platforms to target young South African men as part of its recruitment drive for the war in Ukraine, according to documents and people familiar with the matter.
Two men in their 20s left South Africa in July 2024 after discussing plans to join the Russian military with an individual they met on Discord, a popular chat app used by video gamers. Their departure is detailed in email exchanges between a friend seeking information on their welfare and diplomats, Bloomberg reported.
The pair were regular users of Discord while playing the military simulation game Arma 3, said a person with direct knowledge of the recruitment process.
A deadly pitch
The men were put in contact with a recruiter who identified himself on Discord as “@Dash”. After several online conversations, they met in Cape Town before visiting the Russian consulate, according to the emails and the person familiar with the case.
They travelled to Russia via the United Arab Emirates on July 29 and, after arriving, met @Dash and signed one-year military contracts in early September, the person said.
In addition to being promised what they believed were lucrative contracts, the two South Africans were told they could qualify for Russian citizenship and receive educational opportunities after their service.
Within weeks of signing military contracts near St. Petersburg, a medical certificate showed that one of the men had been killed while fighting in Ukraine, the person said.
The episode has fueled a growing scandal in South Africa, where it has been illegal since 1998 to fight for or assist a foreign country’s military.
On Nov. 20, Bloomberg reported that a daughter of former President Jacob Zuma was linked to the recruitment of men from Botswana and South Africa for Russian military service, with some allegedly told they would be attending a bodyguard training course.
Russia has suffered heavy battlefield losses since President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leaving hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed or wounded and intensifying the country’s search for recruits.