Ukrainian Operatives in South Africa: The War Arrives Quietly

IOL News

19 hours ago

Ukrainian military intelligence is conducting covert operations in South Africa, revealing a complex web of international relations and security implications that challenge the nation's sovereignty.
Image: IOL / Ron AI
On June 6, 2025, veteran Washington Post columnist David Ignatius published a revealing exposé that sent shockwaves through diplomatic and intelligence communities. Citing high-level intelligence sources, Ignatius confirmed what has long been whispered in strategic circles. Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) has been conducting covert operations in South Africa. These include surveillance, disruption of alleged weapons shipments to Russia, and even consideration of attacks on Russian naval assets in Cape Town.
Ignatius is no ordinary columnist. He has deep ties to the United States intelligence establishment. His columns often mirror the thinking of the CIA and are used to signal key geopolitical developments. When Ignatius puts something in print, it carries the weight of the security apparatus behind it.
According to the article, GUR operatives tracked the Russian cargo ship Lady R to Simon's Town naval base in December 2022. They claimed the vessel was there to receive South African arms destined for Russia. It was GUR, not U.S. intelligence, that first delivered this claim to the American government. The U.S. ambassador in Pretoria went public months later. The damage to South Africa's international credibility was immediate. The public inquiry later found no evidence of wrongdoing, but the diplomatic blow had already landed.
Ignatius goes further. He states that GUR agents also disrupted a weapons transfer involving a Russian cargo plane in 2022. In August 2023, when the Russian training ship Smolnyy docked in Cape Town, some GUR officers reportedly considered launching an attack. The operation was ultimately abandoned, but the plan itself was real.
Against this backdrop, the South African Government of National Unity quietly moved to grant visa-free entry to holders of Ukrainian diplomatic, official, and service passports. This was first publicly announced by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber of the Democratic Alliance on 27 October 2024. The waiver was said to apply only to official travel and still required the President's formal ratification. Nonetheless, by March 2025, the visa exemptions were operational without any press release, public announcement, or parliamentary debate.
The GNU, in its current formation, had already been established months before this announcement. It is under this coalition government—led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and supported by DA power brokers—that the visa waiver was implemented. The implications of this move are serious. Ukrainian operatives now have legal access to South African soil under diplomatic protection. There is no indication that they are being vetted, tracked, or restricted in their activities.
GUR chief Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov has stated plainly that Ukraine conducts operations anywhere Russian interests exist. In an interview with Ignatius, Budanov explained: 'We've offered a plan aimed at reduction of Russian potential. It encompasses a lot of aspects, like the military industry, critical military targets, their airfields, their command-and-control posts.' Regarding Africa, Budanov was even more explicit. 'We conduct such operations aimed at reducing Russian military potential anywhere where it's possible. Why should Africa be an exception?'
Ukraine has already struck Russian-linked positions in Mali and the Central African Republic. In July 2023, a GUR-orchestrated strike reportedly killed 84 Wagner Group fighters and 47 Malian soldiers. This is the same military intelligence now welcomed into South Africa with open diplomatic channels.
President Ramaphosa has said nothing about these developments. There has been no statement from the Presidency addressing the security risk. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited South Africa in early 2025, the visit was accompanied by the usual diplomatic messaging and limited media coverage. Official photos were released, and standard statements of cooperation were made, but there was little substance beyond the choreography. What stood out was what remained unsaid. There was no press conference, no detailed communiqués, and no public articulation of strategic agreements. Beneath the surface of diplomatic protocol, a quiet shift was taking place.
The Democratic Alliance, which now holds significant sway in the GNU, has long aligned itself with NATO positions. Its figures have repeatedly voiced support for Ukraine in the ongoing war. Leon Schreiber's announcement of the visa-free arrangement fits into this pattern. The DA has inserted itself into foreign policy at the highest level, without public mandate or parliamentary oversight.
There are reasons to believe that Ukrainian operations in South Africa go beyond surveillance. The disruptions to Russian cargo and naval vessels indicate a direct role in undermining South Africa's cooperation with Russia. This serves the interests of the United States and NATO, not the South African public. The goal is to fracture BRICS alignment and weaken Russia's partnerships across the continent.
The DA's growing influence over security, immigration, and foreign policy within the GNU allows for decisions that align with Western strategic interests. This is compounded by Ramaphosa's ideological ambiguity and his growing proximity to pro-Western actors. The ANC's historical orientation has been diluted. What remains is a compromised posture and a government incapable of articulating or defending an independent foreign policy.
There are also long-standing connections between white right-wing networks in South Africa and Ukraine. After 1994, several individuals linked to the apartheid security state relocated to Eastern Europe. Ukraine's far-right nationalist structures, which absorbed neo-Nazi formations into state security after the 2014 Maidan coup, provided fertile ground for ideological and logistical integration. Many of these actors now travel freely between South Africa and Ukraine, with no public scrutiny or security checks.
South Africa's intelligence architecture is fragmented. There has been no formal protest to the Ukrainian ambassador. No inquiry has been launched into the GUR's confirmed activities. The Presidency has not responded to revelations in the Washington Post. The visa agreement has not been revisited.
Under the UN Charter, hostile operations by one state against another on foreign soil constitute a breach of international peace and security. South Africa has previously cited this principle to avoid escalation in conflicts like Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. That logic has not been applied to Ukraine.
South Africa now finds itself as an unacknowledged battleground in the West's proxy war with Russia. The infiltration is legalised through visa exemptions. The sabotage is framed as intelligence work. The silence is interpreted as compliance.
This is the opening chapter in an ongoing investigation. The next instalment will explore how Ukraine's intelligence war dovetails with American and Israeli regime change strategies aimed at dismantling what remains of the ANC-SACP legacy. South Africa's sovereignty is on the line—and the fight is already under way.
* Gillian Schutte is a South African writer, filmmaker, and critical-race scholar known for her radical critiques of neoliberalism, whiteness, and donor-driven media. Her work centres African liberation, social justice, and revolutionary thought.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.