Imminent threats of Ghanaian youth on Russia frontline - From expectations to exploitation

As the Russia-Ukraine war approaches its fourth year, the recruitment of foreigners to join the armies of both parties has intensified, with a focus on Russia’s strategic recruitment of foreigners announced by President Vladimir Putin on March 11, 2022, shortly after the war started.

This was followed by several reports on the recruitment of foreigners, especially Africans, through deceptive means such as the promise of civilian employment, only to be sent to the war front in Ukraine and left to die.

The cry of three men believed to have survived out of the initial 14 Ghanaians lured to Russia to serve as cannon fodder drew the attention of Ghanaians to the imminent threat of recruitment into the Russian army.

Recruitments go beyond combat roles, as women are recruited through programmes such as the Alabuga Start programme, a recruitment scheme targeting 18 to 22-year-old women, mostly from Africa, to work under dangerous conditions in Alabuga's weapons factories.

A Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) report indicated the pain of a Ghanaian victim’s family, who stated: “They took her dreams and put her on a factory floor making weapons for a war she knows nothing about.

She calls us sometimes, crying, saying it’s a trap.” 

Complexities

The complexities surrounding the recruitment of foreigners, specifically Ghanaians to fight in Russia, go beyond the deceptive recruitment processes, to the control of information on victims, and the legal implications that hinder any possible intervention to rescue victims.

Traffickers embrace social media platforms, encrypted communication channels, and online technologies to lure their victims to avoid detection by law enforcement.

The alleged coercion of African students to fight, with the threat of withdrawing their visas if they refuse, is another threat, as the number of African students studying in Russian universities increased from 35,000 in 2023-24 to 40,000 in 2024-25 and tripled over the past 13 years.

Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, stated that their mission in Moscow was to investigate the allegations and find ways to contact the victims.

A report on the mission, which involved a Ghanaian who fled a Russian army unit after basic training, highlights the challenges of providing diplomatic support to such individuals, as they remain bound by contracts signed in Russian, without fully understanding the terms.

War

As the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, both parties will be in dire need to fill the ranks of their armies, and African mercenaries will continue to be recruited as cannon fodder.

It is not enough for government officials to make enquiries on the alleged status of Ghanaians fighting in Russia; the State’s intervention must go beyond rescuing the victims of such recruitments, and focus on preventing other vulnerable youth from falling victim to unsuspecting traffickers.

Fundamental issues such as the growing unemployment rate must be prioritised, as it leads to the frustration and desperation of the youth who end up in such false and deadly recruitments.

The writer is a Senior Lecturer, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.