Reuters reported the information.President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the investigation on Thursday after receiving distress calls from the citizens, all men between the ages of 20 and 39, who are currently trapped in Ukraine's Donbas region. According to a statement from the presidency, the men were deceived into joining what appear to be mercenary operations through fraudulent job contracts."President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities," the statement says.The government is working to facilitate their return home, though it remains unclear which side of the conflict the men were fighting for. Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya acknowledged the uncertainty, stating: "We don't know yet, hence the investigation."Most of the Donbas region, where the South Africans are reportedly stranded, is under Russian military control. Moscow has faced previous accusations from developing nations of recruiting their citizens under false pretenses to fight on its behalf.A spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said officials are looking into the reports, while Russia's embassy in South Africa did not immediately respond to requests for comment.South Africa has sought to maintain a neutral stance on the war while preserving close ties with Russia as a fellow member of the BRICS economic bloc. Ramaphosa has met with leaders from both nations during the war.Under South African law, citizens are prohibited from providing military assistance to foreign governments or joining foreign armies without official authorization from Pretoria.The case adds to a growing pattern of recruitment scandals involving African nationals. Kenya reported last month that some of its citizens were detained in Russian military camps after being unknowingly drawn into the war. "Agents who masquerade as working with the Russian government... use unscrupulous methods including falsified information to lure innocent Kenyans into the battlefield," Kenya's foreign ministry said in an October 27 statement.India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka have similarly reported that scores of their citizens were recruited under false pretenses for Russia's war effort.In August, South African authorities issued warnings to young people about fake job offers in Russia circulating on social media, following reports that some South African women had been tricked into manufacturing drones. A May report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime found that women from more than 20 African countries had been recruited under false pretenses to produce drones for Russia's military campaign.