Ukrainians outraged by SA hosting Russian Navy ship in Cape Town harbour

The Ukrainian community in South Africa is outraged at South Africa hosting a Russian Navy ship in Cape Town while the Russian military killed scores of Ukrainians, including children, in a major spike in missile attacks over the past week.

The Russian naval training ship Smolny, part of the Baltic Fleet, quietly visited Cape Town harbour on 29 August. It left again on 1 September, according to unofficial naval sources. While in Cape Town its officers visited Simon’s Town to meet the senior command of the South African Navy, said the Russian consulate general in Cape Town in a post on X.

Today, ??“Smolny” training ship arrived in the port of Cape Town. The program of the visit includes the “Smolny”’s command meeting with colleagues from the SA Main Naval Base in Simon’s Town. The ship’s arrival is aimed at strengthening naval ties between Russia and South Africa. pic.twitter.com/eqe06tfZG0

— ГК РФ в Кейптауне (@RusConsCapetown) August 29, 2024

“During the stop, the crew will replenish water, fuel and food supplies and perform technical inspection of the ship,” the Baltic Fleet’s spokesperson told the official Russian news agency Tass.

On 30.08,??”Smolny”training ship’s crew held an open day for capetonians and guests of the city. It was followed by a solemn reception on board on behalf of the ship’s command aimed at strengthening bilateral naval ties. Rear Adm. M.Nkomonde became a guest of honour at the event. pic.twitter.com/JqEbsqCdJj

— ГК РФ в Кейптауне (@RusConsCapetown) August 30, 2024

He added that during the long-range sea voyage, the 300 cadets on board would practise communication and navigation skills.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis told Daily Maverick he did not know the Russian ship had visited.

“That seems to have been ‘under the radar’. It’s a great moral shame and stain on this government that they have given and are giving succour to Putin’s Russia,” he said.

The Ukrainian Association of South Africa said in a statement: “Embracing those who kill children is not neutrality! South Africa, STOP military cooperation with Russia!”

It said that during the ship’s visit to Cape Town, in Ukraine, on “August 30 – a Russian guided bomb launched from a bomber hit a residential building and playground killing six people, including children, and over a hundred others were injured.

“September 3 – a Russian ballistic missile struck the Institute of Communication and a hospital in Poltava. Over 51 deaths have been confirmed, with more than 253 people injured.

“September 4 – Russia bombed the centre of Lviv, which is recognised as [a] Unesco heritage [site], destroying 50 civilian buildings including 2 schools and 2 hospitals. Among [those] killed – three children.”

It added, “As of September 2024, over 19,546 Ukrainian children remained under Russian control after they were unlawfully and forcibly deported from Ukraine.”

Read more: War in Ukraine

The association said new legislation allowed changes to the citizenship, names and birthdates of Ukrainian children without parental consent. Ukrainian children had been sent to 57 regions of Russia, with some already adopted into Russian families. Only 388 children had been returned in nearly three years.

Russia has claimed its forced adoption of Ukrainian children is, in fact, a humanitarian effort, an argument largely dismissed by international observers.

Daily Maverick asked the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Navy for comment. Initially, SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said he knew nothing about the visit.  In a statement subsequent to publication, Dlamini said that the "Russian Navy Training Vessel " had arrived from Venezuela and visited the port of Cape Town between 29 August "for bunkering i.e. re-supply purposes". It departed on 1 September for Namibia.

Russian bomber to participate in SA air show

The Ukrainian Association of SA also condemned the reported upcoming visit to South Africa of a Russian Tupolev Tu-160 long-range bomber, “possibly the one responsible for killing Ukrainian children in Kharkiv”.

It cited reports in military websites, including Bulgarianmilitary.com that the strategic bomber — “among the most sophisticated in Russia’s arsenal” was flying to Pretoria to participate in Africa’s largest air show, the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2024 exhibition later this month.

The website said that ahead of the event, Russian military officers had visited an airport near Pretoria to plan the deployment of Tu-160 long-range bombers to the exhibition.

“These officers were warmly welcomed to the air base by the Chief of the South African Air Force.”

It speculated that Russia’s motive in sending the Tu-160 was to deepen its defence ties with South Africa and to demonstrate its ability to project power a long way from home.

The report quoted Captain Tebogo Augustus, a spokesperson for the South African Air Force, as saying that Russia and South Africa, as BRICS members, along with China, India and Brazil, shared “robust economic connections, political relations, and military cooperation agreements”.

Daily Maverick asked the SA Air Force to comment, but it had not done so by the time of publication. 

‘Non-alignment’

The Ukrainian Association of SA also disputed the claim by a Dirco official, in an apparent reference to Minister Ronald Lamola’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, on 26 August that South Africa had “an active non-alignment stance, which is not neutrality” on Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The Dirco official had added that SA’s “active non-alignment” was based on the Bandung principles of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The association said the core principles of the Bandung Conference were political self-determination, respect for universal human rights, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs and sovereign equality.

“The Russian invasion of [a] sovereign country is an open violation of all principles declared in the Bandung Conference. It is also in violation of the UN Charter and in violation of hundreds of international agreements,” the association said. 

It called on the government to “uphold the South African Constitution and the rules-based international order and to immediately stop any economic or military cooperation with the state that violates international legislation and kills children.

“Impose economic sanctions on Russian companies and individuals linked to the killings of civilians until the Russian military forces withdraw and Ukrainian borders are restored.

“Join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

“We urge the South African community to choose democracy over autocracy and to stand in solidarity with [a] rules-based order, to help defend Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom, to protect its people, and pave the way for a just and long-lasting peace.”

Meanwhile, some Daily Maverick readers expressed concerns about the recent frequent visits to Waterkloof Air Force Base by Russian Ilyushin-IL-76TD cargo planes registered in Kyrgyzstan.

However, military sources said these aircraft had been chartered by the SANDF to fly supplies to its soldiers attached to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC).

In the SANDF statement, Dlamini said there were currently 3 foreign vessels in South African waters, including a Ukrainian vessel, berthed in the Port of Cape Town since 8 May 2024, for repair purposes. "The RSA is a signatory to international maritime laws and conventions and as a sovereign state, has a right and responsibility to accept the docking of foreign vessels as a maritime nation. This to allow ships and crew to have rest and recuperation, and most importantly, replenish their supplies before proceeding on their onward journey." DM

This article was updated to include the SANDF response at 5.45pm on September 5, 2024.