According to local media, the US envoy to South Africa accused the government on Thursday of surreptitiously providing armaments to Russia despite its declared neutrality in the Ukraine crisis.

At a press conference, Ambassador Reuben Brigety stated that the US was "confident" that weapons and ammunition had been transferred onboard a Russian vessel that had moored at a Cape Town naval port in December.

"The Russian arming is extremely serious, and we do not consider this is problem to be resolved," Brigety was quoted as saying. "We would like (South Africa to begin) practicing its non-alignment policy."

The US embassy was slow to respond to AFP's request for comment on the statements, which were corroborated by a meeting source.


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South Africa has refused to criticize Ukraine's incursion, effectively isolating Moscow on the world scene.

The country, an African powerhouse with moral clout for its win against apartheid, has stated its desire to remain impartial and advocated for discussion to settle the crisis.

However, detractors point to several recent episodes as proof of a shift toward the Kremlin.

It performed a combined military exercise with Russia and China earlier this year. Last month, a sanctioned Russian military cargo plane arrived at an air force facility in the middle of the night to deliver what defence officials described as "diplomatic mail."


Ambassador Brigety referred to an earlier incident in which the Lady R, a cargo ship under Western sanctions carrying a Russian flag, docked at South Africa's principal naval facility.

"Among the things we noted was the cargo ship docking in the Simon's Town naval base between the 6th and 8th 2022 December, which we are certain uploaded weapons and ammunition onto that vessel as it made its way back to Russia," the ambassador said.

When asked about the accusation in parliament on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the subject involving Lady R was "being looked into" and that "in time we will be able to speak about it."