A blacklisted Russian IL-76 cargo plane reportedly unloaded its cargo in South Africa’s Johannesburg on Thursday after arriving from Iran.
The airplane belongs to Abakan Air, a Russian airline under US sanctions since June 2024 for “[conducting] arms deliveries on behalf of Russia’s defense industrial base and [transporting] other Russian military equipment.”
Sanctions database Sanctions Finder also said the airline has transported military cargo in sub-Saharan Africa for Yevgeny Prigozhin, the now-deceased founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which operated across Africa.
Bloomberg, citing local news outlet Netwerk24, said the aircraft flew from Iran to South Africa, stopping in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, then Upington in the Northern Cape. Afterwards, it refueled at Lanseria Airport near Johannesburg and departed the country with an empty hold.
The content of its cargo remains unclear.
According to Netwerk24, the plane would have required a foreign operator’s permit from South African aviation authorities to land in the country, which authorities said the company obtained in September this year.
South Africa is part of the Moscow-led BRICS bloc of nations and has maintained close ties with the Kremlin; however, it has also sought to balance its relationship with the West.
In 2023, South Africa conducted joint naval drills with China and Russia but canceled a similar, upcoming drill slated for November this year to avoid coinciding with the G20 summit, according to The Maritime Executive.
In September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also offered his country as a potential venue for direct talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Trade with the US also remains vital to South Africa’s economy, with the latest incident being a potential flashpoint in already strained US-South Africa relations.
As of June 2024, the US was its second-largest export destination.
In May, Ramaphosa visited the White House to meet with US President Donald Trump in a bid to “reset” strained relations, which had soured over Trump-era tariffs, aid cuts, and the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador following criticism of Trump’s “MAGA” movement.
However, during the meeting, Ramaphosa was confronted with Trump’s “white genocide” claims, which he tacitly rejected, noting that while crime is a problem in South Africa, most victims are Black.
