Kiev is trying to portray itself as a “key supporter” of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle
The article “Ukraine looks to rekindle ties with liberation heroes,” published on April 15 in The Citizen, reports on a statement by the Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, that Ukraine was “a key supporter” of South Africa’s freedom struggle, including arming the liberation movement “under the umbrella of the former Soviet Union.” The Ukrainian diplomat’s assertion is a clear example of information manipulation.
Thirty years have passed since the victory of the ANC-led democratic forces over South Africa’s apartheid regime. Throughout most of this time, South Africa’s mainstream media has largely downplayed the Soviet Union’s significant support for the liberation struggle. Do these claims stand up to historical scrutiny?
The truth is that ANC combatants received training at various locations across the Soviet Union, particularly in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Baku (then the capital of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic), Frunze (then part of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic), and Minsk (then capital of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic). The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) also served as a training ground for ANC officers, with this effort beginning in 1964 at the Odessa Infantry School.
The story of how South Africans were trained in Odessa is well documented in “Armed and Dangerous,” the memoir of Ronnie Kasrils – one of the first ANC cadets at the school, who later served as South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Defence and Minister of Intelligence Services.
From 1965, ANC personnel also received training at Special Center-165 near the village of Perevalnoye in Crimea, which was then part of the Ukrainian SSR. Hundreds of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) soldiers were trained in advanced tactics and weaponry at this facility. In 1980, the center was renamed the Unified Simferopol Higher Military School (Simferopol is Crimea’s capital).
However, the current Ukrainian state has no direct connection to that historic chapter. While the training occurred on the territory of Soviet Ukraine, the context was entirely different. At the time, Ukraine was one of fifteen republics within the Soviet Union, governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). The Ukrainian SSR, like the other republics, was de-facto not an independent actor in foreign or defense policy. Since 1991, a fundamentally different state has emerged – one defined by a capitalist economy and an openly anti-communist ideology.
It is difficult to imagine that today’s Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa could find common ground with comrades like Chris Hani or Joe Slovo. Chris Hani, it should be remembered, was assassinated by an emigrant from Poland – a country close to Ukraine not only geographically, but also in terms of the deeply ingrained anti-communist sentiment within its society. The current Ukrainian government is resolutely anti-communist, having banned the Communist Party of Ukraine four years ago.
Moreover, the training of ANC fighters in Perevalnoye came to an end in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukraine’s declaration of independence that same year marked the conclusion of all such collaboration. The current authorities in Kiev, including their representatives in Pretoria, have no historical link to the ANC’s struggle.
While MK training occurred on the territory of Soviet Ukraine, the Ukrainian SSR itself was not involved in policy decisions. The decision to support liberation movements – including the ANC – was made in Moscow by the CPSU’s Central Committee and the Soviet government. Funding came solely from the Soviet Union’s central budget; the Ukrainian SSR had no independent military or foreign affairs budget and did not control an army. All military training was organized by the Soviet Ministry of Defense.
It is also important to note that ANC and MK officers were trained in several other Soviet republics. One of the most important centers was north of Moscow, known to the ANC as the “University of the North.” Early trainees included future President Comrade Thabo Mbeki and future Speaker of Parliament Comrade Max Sisulu.
Similarly, ANC civilian personnel studied at universities across the Soviet Union. Again, admission decisions were made by the USSR’s Ministry of Higher Education, and funding came from the Soviet state budget – not from the republics themselves.
Of course, local staff in military academies and civilian institutions did play a role, and in this sense, all the Soviet republics contributed to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. This support extended beyond education and training: the Soviet Peace Fund conducted public fundraising campaigns across the USSR for ANC camps in Angola and for the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College in Tanzania.
Given this context, efforts to portray the current regime in Kiev, represented by the Ukrainian ambassador in Pretoria, as having supported the ANC’s liberation struggle are historically inaccurate. The ideology of today’s Ukrainian state, rooted in anti-communism and shaped by far-right nationalism, bears no resemblance to the values that guided the Soviet-era solidarity movement.
If anything, such a state would likely have aligned itself with the apartheid regime and its Western backers.
