Ghana Loses 55 Nationals In Russia-Ukraine War

At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed fighting in the war in Ukraine, with two others currently held as prisoners of war, Ghana’s foreign affairs minister said yesterday, according to the BBC.

On a trip to Kyiv, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said about 272 Ghanaians were believed to have been lured into the conflict since 2022, citing Ukrainian authorities.

Ablakwa described the figures as depressing and frightening, saying Ghana cannot turn a blind eye to these heartbreaking statistics.

He did not say whose side the Ghanaians had been fighting on but Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that more than 1,700 people from 36 countries in Africa had been recruited to fight for Russia.

The 55 Ghanaians is the highest number of casualties from a single African country to have been officially confirmed in the Ukraine-Russia war.

Local media in Cameroon have reported that 94 of its nationals have died in the conflict, but the authorities have not commented on these figures. Two South Africans and at least one Kenyan have died in the conflict.

Ablakawa said the casualty figures were “not just numbers, they represent human lives, the hope of many Ghanaian families and our nation”.

He said the Ghanaian government was committed to “tracking and dismantling all dark web illegal recruitment schemes” as well as launching intensive public awareness campaigns to prevent the country’s youth from being drawn into the conflict.

“This is not our war and we cannot allow our youth to become human shields for others,” he added.

On Thursday, a Kenyan national was charged over accusations he had lured young men to Russia with job opportunities, only for them to end up fighting in Ukraine. Festus Arasa Omwamba denied the charges.

A total of 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia in its four-year war against Ukraine, said a report from Kenya’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), released last week.

Russia’s embassy in Kenya has denied accusations that it was involved in recruiting people to fight in the war. However, it said that Russian law allowed foreign nationals who are legally in the country to voluntarily enlist in the armed forces.

On Wednesday, Ghana’s foreign minister urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to release two Ghanaian prisoners of war captured fighting for Russia.