The visit did not appear in any official agenda and was announced on Monday, May 15, by Russian news agencies. Lt.
Gen. Lawrence Mbatha and his delegation discussed with their Russian colleagues "issues of military cooperation" The South African delegation will visit "training institutions of the Land Forces" but also "companies of the Russian military-industrial complex" The trip also comes almost three months to the day after the start of joint naval exercises between Russia, China and South Africa in the middle of the first anniversary of the sending of Russian soldiers to Ukraine.