London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×