Russia accused of using Discord to recruit South African gamers for Ukraine war

Russia has used online gaming platforms to approach and recruit young South African men for its war effort in Ukraine, according to documents and individuals familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.

The agency said that two South African men in their twenties left the country in July 2024 after discussing their intentions to join the Russian military with someone they had encountered on Discord, a chat platform widely used by video gamers. Their departure was described in email correspondence between a concerned friend seeking updates on their situation and South African diplomats.

According to a person with direct knowledge of the recruitment process, the pair were active Discord users while playing Arma 3, a military simulation game. Through the platform, they were introduced to a recruiter who used the handle “@Dash.” After conducting several conversations online, the two met him in Cape Town and subsequently visited the Russian consulate, as indicated in the emails and confirmed by the individual familiar with the case.

They departed South Africa on July 29, travelling to Russia via the United Arab Emirates. Upon arrival, they met with @Dash and, in early September, signed one-year contracts with the Russian military, the person said.

Beyond what they believed to be attractive contractual terms, the men were also told they could become eligible for Russian citizenship and gain access to educational opportunities upon completing their service.

However, only weeks after signing the contracts near St. Petersburg, one of the men was reported killed while fighting in Ukraine, as documented in a medical certificate, according to the same source.

The incident has intensified a growing scandal in South Africa, where legislation adopted in 1998 makes it illegal to fight for or provide support to the armed forces of another country.

On November 20, Bloomberg reported that a daughter of former President Jacob Zuma had been linked to efforts to recruit men from both Botswana and South Africa for Russian military service, with some reportedly told they would be attending a bodyguard training programme.

Russia has sustained severe losses on the battlefield since President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in hundreds of thousands of troops killed or wounded and adding urgency to the country’s drive to find new recruits.