Ghana Demands That Russia Stop Recruiting Citizens to Fight in the War Against Ukraine
Ghana has officially called on Russia to stop recruiting its citizens to fight in the war against Ukraine. This demand was voiced during talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that similar appeals had been received from other African countries—South Africa, Kenya, and Botswana.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of August 2026, Russia had recruited at least 2,982 citizens from 37 African countries, 486 of whom have been killed. The largest numbers of recruits were recorded from Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Algeria, and Mali.
Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzetu Ablakwa, reported that 62 Ghanaian citizens have already died in Ukraine, and another 15 are considered missing.
According to Ghanaian officials, this involves the illegal recruitment of citizens to serve in the Russian army.
Lavrov, for his part, stated that there is a special unit within the Russian Ministry of Defense that reviews such requests and expressed confidence that it would also address Ghana’s inquiry.
According to international investigations, Russian recruiters offer foreigners jobs in Russia, often under the guise of positions as security guards, general laborers, or other civilian professions. To recruit people, they use, among other things, social media, Telegram, and WhatsApp, as well as companies posing as employment or travel agencies.
In some cases, people agree to the trip because of promises of high salaries, jobs, and the possibility of obtaining Russian citizenship; however, upon arrival in Russia, they are forced to sign a military contract or are effectively conscripted into the Russian army.
According to estimates cited by the Center for Policy and Analysis (CPA), by the end of 2025, Russia could have recruited approximately 18,000 foreigners from 128 countries into the war, with at least 3,300 of them killed.
Consequently, the issue of recruiting foreigners into the Russian army is increasingly becoming the subject of official appeals from African states to Moscow.
This was reported by the Center for Policy and Analysis’s press service.
As a reminder, Russian authorities are attempting to recruit young residents of the temporarily occupied territories into the Russian Armed Forces by using propaganda about high pay, social benefits, and the opportunity to continue their education while serving.
Earlier, the German television channel ZDF published an investigation claiming that Russia had established a large-scale scheme to recruit foreigners to participate in the war against Ukraine.
Russia continues to recruit foreigners into its army to participate in the war against Ukraine. In particular, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the deaths of 11 Peruvian citizens who had joined Russian forces.
