Ghana Says Putin Has Banned Ghanaians From Fighting in Ukraine. Moscow Made Similar Promises Before

Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Ghanaians "no longer allowed to participate in the war with Ukraine." The ministry said in a Facebook post that Putin made the declaration after President John Mahama raised Ghana's concerns in direct talks at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow. According to the ministry, the policy applies in all circumstances, whether through irregular recruitment or voluntary expressions of interest.

The ministry presented the recruitment pledge as one of six commitments from the summit. The other five were about cooperation between the two governments - Ghanaians being lured into Russia’s army and dying there was one item on the table among them.

See also: Billboards in Accra warn about Russian recruitment

The Second Promise in Under Three Months

It is not the first time Moscow has made a commitment on this to Accra. On August 17, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and appealed for an end to what he called illegal recruitment of Ghanaians. Ablakwa said the two ministers agreed to work together on the issue. Lavrov said Ghanaians signed Russian Defence Ministry contracts out of solidarity with a country that helped them fight racism and for material and financial reasons, and that the ministry had set up a special body to review such requests.

At that meeting Ablakwa put the number of Ghanaians killed at 62, with 15 missing. On June 25th "I Want to Live" had named 85 Ghanaians killed in Russia's army, the second-highest toll in Africa after Cameroon.

A Safe Way Out

Ghanaians and other foreign nationals lured into Russia's armed forces have an option to safely escape the battlefield with Ukraine's "I Want to Live" project. See our FAQ for recommendations for victims of Russian military recruitment and their families.