The U.S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country Thursday of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine via a cargo ship linked to a sanctioned company that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town in December.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation into the visit by a Russian vessel named Lady R to his nation's main naval base was already underway behind the scenes with the help of U.S. intelligence services before Ambassador Reuben Brigety went public at a news conference in the South African capital, Pretoria, that the cargo was weapons and ammunition.Brigety said the U.S.
While Ramaphosa's office said in a statement later Thursday that there was currently "no evidence" to support allegations that arms were loaded onto the Lady R, The Associated Press established that the vessel is tied to a company that was sanctioned last year by the U.S. for being involved in transporting military equipment for the Russian government.
Ramaphosa's office acknowledged in its statement that the Lady R docked in South Africa, but did not say when, where or for what reason. The statement also criticized the American ambassador for going public. The AP has also independently confirmed that the Lady R docked at the Simon's Town naval base during the time frame Brigety cited.
Steenhuisen's opposition party had previously raised questions over the appearance of a "mystery" Russian vessel in Simon's Town. In late December, South African Defense Minister Thandi Modise said the ship was handling an "old order" for ammunition, and arms were offloaded, not loaded onto the ship.
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