Russia uses Arma 3 video game, Discord to recruit South African mercenaries for Ukraine war

Bloomberg reported the information.

According to the publication, two men in their early twenties left South Africa in July 2024 after telling an interlocutor in Discord chats about their intention to join the Russian army. This is confirmed by correspondence between diplomats and a friend who was trying to determine their whereabouts and condition.

A source familiar with the recruitment process noted that the South Africans regularly used Discord while playing the military simulator Arma 3. It was through the gaming community that they were contacted by someone using the alias @Dash, whom both men subsequently met in Cape Town.

Following this meeting, the South Africans visited the Russian consulate and departed for Russia on July 29 via transit through the United Arab Emirates. In early September, they signed one-year contracts near Saint Petersburg.

In addition to what they considered advantageous military contracts, the two South Africans were told they could obtain Russian citizenship and continue their education if they served in the army.

Within a few weeks of completing basic training, one of the South Africans was deployed to the front in Ukraine, where he served as an assistant to a sniper-grenadier. According to a medical certificate, he was killed on October 23, 2024, during combat operations in the area of Verkhniokamianske in the Luhansk region. The whereabouts of the other man remain unknown.

• The previous week, Captain Rostyslav Yashchyshyn, head of the communications department of the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the 3rd Corps, reported that a fighter from South Africa who had been fighting on Ukraine's side had been taken prisoner.