The US ambassador to South Africa on Thursday accused the country of supplying Russia with weapons and ammunition for the war in Ukraine via a secret cargo ship docked at a naval base near Cape Town for three days. day in December. Questions were raised in the South African parliament on Thursday and President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation was underway.
Ambassador Reuben Brigety said the United States was certain the equipment was loaded onto a Russian ship at the Simon Town Naval Base and then shipped to Russia, according to reports of his comments carried by several Southern media outlets. – South Africa reported. Ramaphosa was in Cape Town answering questions from Parliament when it was reported Brigety’s comments.
When a lawmaker asked about weapons and ammunition, the president replied that “the matter is under consideration and we can talk about it in the near future.”
Ramaphosa declined to comment further, citing the need to conduct an investigation.
Political opposition leader John Steenhuisen asked the president if South Africa was “actively arming Russian soldiers to kill and maim innocent people?” Steenhuisen also asked if Ramaphosa could confirm that “weapons of war” had been loaded onto the Russian ship.
Ammunition supplies became an issue for Russia during the war. The commander of Russia’s private army, Wagner, complained last week that his mercenaries in Ukraine would face a severe shortage. In a statement later on Thursday, Ramaphosa’s office acknowledged that a Russian ship named Lady R had docked in South Africa, but the office did not specify the location or purpose of the stop.
The statement criticized the US ambassador for going public and said there was an agreement that US intelligence agencies would provide all the evidence they had to help with the South African investigation.
Lady R and a Russian company affiliated with it, Transmorflot LLC, were sanctioned by the United States last year after Russia invaded Ukraine for being involved in the shipment of military equipment and weapons.
Brigety said earlier on Thursday that South Africa’s alleged arming of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine was “extremely serious” and questioned South Africa’s supposed neutrality stance.
Sources has independently confirmed that Lady R docked at Naval Base Simon Town during the time period cited by Brigety.
