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South Africa’s Ukrainian Association has expressed outrage that a Russian naval vessel was recently allowed to dock for several days at Cape Town harbor. Critics say the incident calls into question Pretoria’s purported neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Ukrainian Association in South Africa said it was dismayed to learn the Russian naval training ship Smolnyy had anchored at the Port of Cape Town in late August.
While the vessel was docked in South Africa, Russian bombardments in Ukraine killed scores of people, including children, the association’s Dzvinka Kachur said.
“Meanwhile, a Russian military training ship docks in Cape Town reportedly strengthening military ties between the countries,” said Kachur.
The Russian consulate general in Cape Town said on its X account August 30 that the ship’s command had met with South African naval counterparts and hosted a reception “aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.”
Russian state news agency Tass also reported the ship’s “unofficial” port call. It said the ship had undertaken a long-distance voyage that included stops in Cuba and Venezuela so that 300 cadets from the Russian Ministry of Defense could conduct a maritime practice.
“The Ukrainian Association of South Africa urges the government to stop all military cooperation with Russia immediately,” said Kachur.
Some South African officials appeared taken by surprise when asked to comment on the ship’s visit. The mayor of Cape Town told the local Daily Maverick newspaper that he had been unaware of the port call and said it “seems to have been under the radar.’’
In response to a request from VOA for comment, the South African National Defense Force issued a statement confirming the vessel had been docked in Cape Town for re-supply purposes. It added that South Africa “as a sovereign state has a right and responsibility to accept the docking of foreign vessels as a maritime nation.”
The statement noted, “There are currently three foreign vessels in South African waters, including a Ukrainian vessel,” that is here for repairs.
But the Democratic Alliance, the former opposition party that is now part of South Africa’s new coalition government, condemned the incident as “cozying up to Russia.”
Chris Hattingh is a member of parliament for the Democratic Alliance.
“The latest incident, the berthing of Smolnyy, a Russian navy Baltic Fleet training vessel in Cape Town after visiting Venezuela and Cuba, underlines the contradiction of President [Cyril] Ramaphosa’s utterances of non-alignment in the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” he said.
The African National Congress, which has the most seats in parliament, has ties with Moscow dating back to when the former USSR backed its struggle against apartheid. They are also both BRICS members.
Pretoria has been criticized for not condemning the invasion of Ukraine and for hosting Russian warships in controversial joint exercises last year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also visited and was warmly welcomed in 2023.
In May of last year, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety alleged that South Africa had covertly provided arms to Russia when a different ship docked in Cape Town.
The South African government set up an independent investigation into the matter, which ultimately found no evidence of that.