At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine after being “lured into battle,” Ghana’s foreign minister said following a visit to Kyiv where officials raised concerns about Russian recruitment of Africans. Reports that African men were enticed to Russia with promises of jobs and ended up on Ukraine’s frontlines have increased in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some African countries.
Russian authorities have denied illegally recruiting African citizens to fight in Ukraine. Foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa wrote on X that “272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into battle since 2022 for which an estimated 55 have been killed and 2 captured as prisoners of war.”
Standing with Ablakwa at a media briefing, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said more than 1,780 Africans from 36 countries were fighting in the Russian army. Ablakwa said Ghana, which maintains economic and diplomatic ties with Russia, intended to raise awareness about recruitment and to dismantle “dark web illegal recruitment schemes operating within our jurisdiction.” “This is not our war and we cannot allow our youth to become human shields for others,” he added.
The minister said the Ghanaian government would step up public education and work to track and dismantle illegal dark-web recruitment operations in the country. He said the two captured Ghanaians had warned others against being tempted by financial incentives to join the conflict.
South Africa’s government said this week that two of its citizens had died on the frontlines, separate from a group of 17 South Africans who were tricked into fighting for Russia and who were mostly repatriated. In South Africa, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, is under police investigation over alleged involvement in luring more than a dozen South African men to Russia.
According to a Kenyan intelligence report, more than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia. Kenya’s foreign ministry has said 27 Kenyans have been rescued after being stranded in Russia, and Kenyan foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi plans to visit Russia in March for talks on the issue.
