Ghana stands at a decisive point where it can accomplish two pressing national tasks. That is stop the unlawful drafting of its young population into Russia’s ongoing war and facilitate the return of those who have perished or disappeared.
According to Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who spoke in Moscow on August 17, 62 citizens have lost their lives in the war with 15 others unaccounted for. In an earlier briefing in July, he noted that an estimated 272 Ghanaians have been enlisted since 2022, with 55 confirmed dead and two captured as prisoners of war, representing the largest officially acknowledged death toll from any single African nation at that period. Separate verification by Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” initiative documents at least 85 Ghanaian fatalities among 485 Africans confirmed to have died while serving in the Russian military.
Officials indicate that victims are deceived through fraudulent foreign employment adverts circulated on social media, Telegram and WhatsApp platforms, offering monthly incomes of $2,000 to $3,000, only to be coerced into endorsing Russian Defence Ministry papers written in a language they cannot comprehend. Recruiters are allegedly compensated for each individual, with one intermediary said to have diverted more than $25,000 from the enlistment bonuses of 14 trafficked Ghanaians.
The diplomatic breakthrough emerged after direct engagement with Moscow, where Mr Ablakwa said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov committed to collaborate to curb the unlawful enlistment. However, Lavrov, while not denying the presence of Ghanaians in Russian forces, dismissed the characterization of “illegal recruitment,” making it uncertain what tangible measures Russia will implement beyond case-by-case reviews.As the Third Russia-Africa Summit convenes in Moscow on 28 and 29 October 2026, there is mounting pressure for Ghana to demand more than assurances, with calls for a written agreement outlining procedures for identifying, discharging and returning Ghanaians in Russian ranks and locating the missing, while intensifying efforts domestically to dismantle syndicates operating both openly and on the dark web.
