55 Ghanaians killed in Russia-Ukraine war

At least 55 Ghanaians recruited into the Russian army for its war in Ukraine have been killed in action, according to Ukrainian officials. 

During a presentation in Kiev, Ukraine, last Wednesday, the Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War of Ukraine, Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, told the Ghanaian delegation, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, that Ukraine intelligence found out that 272 Ghanaians had been recruited into the Russian army over the past three years.

He indicated that in 2023, 17 Ghanaians were recruited and trained by Russia, and in 2024, another 53 Ghanaians were recruited into the Russian army.

The recruitment, however, skyrocketed last year by over 300 per cent, with 202 Ghanaian able-bodied hands recruited to fight alongside Russia against Ukraine in the ongoing war Ukraine intelligence indicated. 

Africa’s involvement

According to Brigadier General Usov, Africa had contributed 1,785 young men as recruits to Russia's war against Ukraine.

This meant that Ghana allegedly contributed 16 per cent of all Africans recruited into the Russian army.

He stated that the recruits from Africa came from 36 different countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Uganda, Burundi and Togo.

Others are Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Senegal, Benin, Cameroon and Kenya.

Meanwhile, captives from 45 different countries worldwide are being held in a fortified camp in Ukraine as prisoners of war, including two Ghanaians.

Leading the prisoners of war chart by nationality are nationals of “Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Egypt”.

Brigadier General Usov stated that, globally, Russia recruited over 24,098 foreigners into its army from 135 countries and unrecognised territories since the war began, adding that their intelligence indicates that Russia planned to recruit 18,500 more foreigners, including Africans, this year.

The Ukrainian official asserted that at least 3,388 foreigners had been killed in action since the start of the war four years ago.

He said 42 per cent of recruits died within the first four months of their recruitment.

Brigadier General Usov added that their intelligence suggested that, while 3,080 had completed their contracts with the Russian army, they had not yet been released by the Russians. 

Responsiveness

In his interaction with the Ukrainian officials, the minister assured the Ukrainian officials of the government’s commitment to curtail the illegal trafficking of innocent Ghanaians lured into the war against Ukraine.

Mr Ablakwa affirmed that the government had begun awareness-raising and public education to protect vulnerable youth from predatory agents recruiting them into the war.

“The Mahama Administration is committed to tracking and dismantling all 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 said. 

The minister described the recruitment of African youth for the war as an “African crisis”, which needed to be seriously tackled to prevent the continent from being drawn into the war.

Mr Ablakwa stressed that he would mobilise colleague foreign ministers to tackle the challenge and also assured that President John Mahama’s efforts to raise the issue among colleague Heads of State and Government would continue, especially when he took over the Chairmanship of the African Union next year, to address it.