The South African government has announced that 17 of its citizens have been declared stateless after joining mercenary forces in the war in Russia and Ukraine.

The South Africans, believed to be between 20 and 39 years old, are in the Donbas region, which has been badly affected by the war in Ukraine.

A South African government spokesman said President Cyril Ramaphosa had ordered an investigation into "the circumstances in which the youth were recruited to become mercenaries."

The statement did not specify which side the South Africans were fighting on in the conflict.

It is illegal to fight for another country as a mercenary soldier or fighter unless authorized by the South African government.

The government has said that the youths were lured into joining the conscript force by promising them jobs.

Spokesperson Vincent Magweina added that the South African government was working through "diplomatic channels" to return the combatants.

The spokesman added that 16 of the mercenaries were from the Zulu Natal area, while one was from the Eastern Cape.