Russian aggression must be condemned, says SA Ukraine body

The war between Russia and Ukraine is not only a European geopolitical crisis but it is already affecting South Africa as a trading partner of both countries, say economic and international relations experts.

There were already reports that Ukrainian citizens were feeling the pressure of the war. The Ukrainian Association of South Africa (UASA) – representing 100 members out of 6 000 Ukrainians living in South Africa – was concerned about the safety of ordinary citizens in the country.

“We are connected to multiple social media platforms and are receiving concerns from people and family members in Ukraine who witnessed attacks and heard explosions in the country,” said Kachur Dzvinka, honorary president of UASA.

“We hope South Africa will condemn this aggression by Russia based on historical matters.” She said they were organising protest actions at the Russian embassy in Pretoria and the consulate in Cape Town today. The Russian embassy in South Africa has said it will comment on Friday.

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America vowed to impose severe sanctions against Russia. Todd Haskell, chargé d’affaires at the US Mission to South Africa, relayed US President Joe Biden’s message that “we call on all leaders throughout the world to speak out clearly against President Putin’s flagrant aggression, and to stand with the people of Ukraine”.

Haskell cited Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s earlier statement which said: “We will continue to stand with our allies and partners to support Ukraine as it faces Russia’s threats with courage and strength. And we’ll continue to defend the international laws that keep every country in the world safe from the aggression Russia is now inflicting upon Ukraine.”

Antswisa Transaction Advisory chief economist Miyelani Mkhabela said due to the conflict, import and export deals would suffer under the effective trade limitations, forcing the rand to further destabilise and oil prices to accelerate.

“South Africa’s trade with Ukraine may be insignificantly low, while higher with Russia as a Brics trade bloc partner,” he said. But the confrontation could cause additional bottlenecks in the SA supply chain. “Agricultural products will be affected the most as they are perishables,” Mkhabela said.

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The Ukrainian embassy in Pretoria did not comment at the time of going to print. Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for the department of international relations and cooperation, said the South African embassy in Kyiv is monitoring developments closely and is also assisting South African nationals in Ukraine.

“South Africa calls on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine in line with the United Nations Charter, which enjoins all member states to settle their international disputes by peaceful means,” Monyela said.