Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

'It's a serious issue': White House responds to claims South Africa passed weapons to Russia

'It's a serious issue': White House responds to claims South Africa passed weapons to Russia

It is claimed that a Russian ship picked up weapons in South Africa last year - an act which would represent a breach of Pretoria's declared neutrality in the Ukraine war.

White House National Security Council spokesman Admiral John Kirby has described reports that a Russian cargo ship transported weapons from a port in South Africa to Russia in December as a "serious issue".

Speaking to Sky News, he said: "We have consistently and strongly urged countries not to provide any support for Russia's war.

"We don't believe that anybody should be making it easier for Mr Putin to kill innocent Ukrainian people, period.

"We've had multiple conversations at multiple levels, with multiple countries about those concerns, but obviously I'm not going to get into the diplomatic conversations themselves.

"It's a serious issue."

Supplying weapons

America's ambassador to South Africa said on Thursday that he was confident a Russian ship, the Lady R, had picked up weapons in the country last year, which would represent a breach of Pretoria's declared neutrality in the war.
John Kirby said no nation should be 'looking for ways to make it easier for Mr Putin'.


"We are confident that weapons were loaded on to that vessel, and I would bet my life on the accuracy of that assertion," Ambassador Rueben Brigety told journalists in South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded, saying his government would open an inquiry.

"The matter is being looked into and in time, we'll be able to speak about [it]," the president said.

Phone call


The development comes as both President Ramaphosa and President Putin spoke by phone in a call, which the Kremlin claimed was initiated by the South African side.

In a brief summary of the call, released by the Kremlin, the two "expressed their intentions to further intensify mutually beneficial ties in various fields".

According to the Kremlin, Mr Putin told Mr Ramaphosa that Moscow had never refused the "diplomatic track" to resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

Kremlin officials said that President Putin supported President Ramaphosa's peace proposal, which involves African leaders in an initiative to bring about peace.

Summit in August


Russia and South Africa are both members of the BRICS group of nations including Brazil, India and China.

The next BRICS summit is to be held in Durban, South Africa, on 15 August. It is not clear if President Putin will defy sanctions on his travel to attend the summit.

Both Russia and China have placed a significant focus on Africa in recent years. China especially has a significant economic footprint in counties across the African continent.

Joe Biden has not yet visited Africa as US president and his administration has been accused of neglecting the continent.

The consequence, geopolitically, has been a pivot for many African nations towards both Beijing and Moscow.

During the Putin-Ramaphosa phone call, the Russian president repeated an offer to deliver Russian grain and fertilisers free of charge to African countries.

At the White House, Admiral Kirby would not be drawn further on the issue of the Lady R cargo ship, but added: "No other nation should be looking for ways to make it easier for Mr Putin to kill the Ukrainian people, they [Russia] are the aggressor.

"They need to leave. They shouldn't be there in the first place.

"And nobody should be looking for any way to make it easier for him to conduct this war and leave it at that."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×