‘Russian air arsenal’ lands in Pretoria as Ukraine’s foreign minister takes off

The complexities, competitiveness and contradictions of the Government of National Unity’s (GNU’s) foreign policy were on full display this week as Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met his counterpart Ronald Lamola in Pretoria on Monday and hours later a “Russian air arsenal” — as the SA National Defence Force delicately put it — began touching down at the capital city’s Waterkloof Air Force Base.

In what looked like a great moment in bad diplomatic timing, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) announced on Tuesday the imminent arrival of two Russian Tu-160 “Blackjack” strategic bombers with a support flight including an Il 62 passenger jet and an AN-124 cargo plane, just after Sybiha had taken off.

The SANDF said the “Russian air arsenal” would visit SA from Tuesday to Friday in a display of “defence cooperation and strengthening of military-to-military relations”, including a seminar between the pilots and technicians of both on combat planning and search and rescue.

One or more of the support planes are believed to have landed at Waterkloof on Tuesday but it was not clear if and when the Tu-160 strategic bombers would arrive. Daily Maverick heard that Moscow may have postponed or even cancelled their visit. (see Update below) In September, they were supposed to visit to participate in the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2024 exhibition but that visit was cancelled at the last minute.

Contested solidarity

Meanwhile, Sybiha, the newly-appointed Ukrainian foreign minister, appeared to have had a successful visit, though also not without running foul of internal GNU politics.

Democratic Alliance Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber announced that he had signed an agreement with Sybiha to waive visas for diplomats from both countries visiting the other. Schreiber added, “We continue to see Ukraine as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning, from the days of our struggle against apartheid, right through to now.”

This was clearly a jibe at President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had said the same thing about Russia being a valued friend and ally when he met President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia last week. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, chimed in by saying that Ramaphosa had not yet authorised Schreiber to sign the agreement.

Read more: Putin hails BRICS summit as ‘great success’, invites several new countries to become ‘partners’

Sybiha implicitly made the same point that Ukraine had also been a longtime friend to South Africa when he unveiled a plaque at Pretoria’s Freedom Park honouring the late Hennadiy Udovenko, a Ukrainian diplomat who had served as the vice-chairperson of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid from 1985 to 1992 when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.

Both Russia and the ANC like to remind the world that Russia supported the liberation movement. But Ukraine points out that it also supported the liberation struggle as it was then part of the Soviet Union.

At the ceremony unveiling the plaque at Freedom Park, Bheki Langa, a former South African ambassador to Russia and China, and brother of the late Chief Justice Pius Langa, recalled how he and many other ANC members had studied in Ukraine.

Sybiha, who noted that Monday was the 978th day of Russia’s war against Ukraine, appealed through Lamola for South Africa to try to stop the war, including by using its influence on Moscow.

“South Africa’s voice makes a real difference in Africa and globally. We need your solidarity and support on matters crucial for all of us,” he said at a joint press conference with Lamola.

Ukraine urges SA action

Sybiha noted that South Africa would take over the presidency of the G20 in December and said: “We place high expectations on your strong leadership in addressing regional and global challenges, including Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

Sybiha’s spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi, told Daily Maverick that Ukraine understood Lamola’s response that the focus of SA’s G20 presidency would be on sustainable economic development and the need for justice in global financial governance.

“But our view is that Russian aggression against Ukraine has global repercussions, including for the economy, for energy security, for food security and many other areas.”

The war should be addressed in the G20, he said. He added that Lamola had told Sybiha that South Africa would find a way to focus on Ukraine and the war during its G20 presidency.

Read more: SA’s G20 presidency will aim to promote African and Global South interests, says Ramaphosa

Tykhyi added that Sybiha had also asked Lamola and other SA officials he met whether South Africa could persuade Brazilian President Inácio Lula da Silva to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to this year’s G20 summit in Brazil next month where he could make his proposals on how to end the war in Ukraine. Tykhyi said Sybiha’s request was “well received” by the SA officials but they made no commitment.

Tykhyi said Sybiha and Lamola had also discussed arrangements for Zelensky to visit South Africa. No specific dates had been agreed on, “but they discussed a certain timeframe in the nearest future when this visit could take place”.

Sybiha also said at the joint press conference with Lamola, that Ukraine was planning a second peace summit after the first one in Switzerland in June, and said: “We need the Republic of South Africa to be there and add  its strong voice.”

Read more: South Africa rejects outcome of Zelensky’s global peace summit

He said he had invited South Africa to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, noting that Russia had “stolen” at least 20,000 Ukrainian children from the territories it had occupied and had deported them to Russia. Tykhyi said Lamola’s response was positive and Ukraine understood that South Africa would participate in a conference of the coalition in Canada this week.

Sybiha appealed to Lamola for South Africa to take “a clear stance” in restoring and protecting freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, saying Russia was stepping up its attacks on Ukrainian ports and agriculture to frustrate its efforts to export grain and destroy its economy.

He said he had shared intelligence data with Lamola about Russia preparing to attack Ukraine’s nuclear energy system to leave the country without power during the coming winter.

“There is a real risk of a nuclear incident. And we need South Africa to help us prevent this scenario and make it clear to Russia that such threats are not acceptable.” DM

Update at 1.55pm on October 30, 2024: The Defence Department confirmed speculation in a  one-liner statement on Wednesday morning that  "the arrival of the Tupolev Tu-160 ‘Blackjack’ strategic bombers of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation has been postponed".