Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has affirmed the government’s commitment to tracking and dismantling dark web networks that illegally recruit Ghanaians to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Speaking on the issue, Ablakwa said Ghanaians would not be allowed to participate in the conflict, which has lasted four years and claimed an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 military personnel and civilians. According to researchers, Russia has suffered the largest military losses of any global power since World War II.
The war’s toll has not been limited to combatants from Russia and Ukraine. Africans have been trafficked to the frontlines through criminal syndicates and dark web recruitment since 2022. Ukrainian authorities report that around 1,780 Africans from 36 countries have been drawn into the conflict, meaning roughly 66.7 percent of African nations have had nationals involved in the fighting.
Specifically, Ghana accounts for 272 of those recruited to join Russian forces since the full-scale invasion in 2022, representing 15.3% of African combatants. Out of this number, 55 have died, and two are currently held as prisoners of war.
“During our engagements and media briefing, Ukrainian authorities revealed that from their credible intelligence gathering, they have documented 1,780 Africans from 36 countries who have been lured by criminal trafficking networks to join the war against Ukraine,”
“Even more depressing and frightening, we were informed that 272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into battle since 2022, of which an estimated 55 have been killed and two captured as prisoners of war,” he said.
Ablakwa stressed that these numbers represent real lives lost and underlined the need for strong government action to prevent further recruitment. He said the Mahama administration will embark on intensive public education campaigns to warn the youth against trafficking schemes and dark web recruitment.
“That is why government is determined to raise awareness and embark on intensive public education so that our youth will be protected,” he said. “This is not our war, and we cannot allow our youth to become human shields for others.”
The minister also noted that the two Ghanaians currently held as prisoners of war have expressed remorse and shared harrowing accounts of their experiences on the battlefield. Ablakwa used the occasion to urge young Ghanaians not to be enticed into the conflict.
During his visit to Ukraine, Ablakwa, alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, paid homage at the Wall of Remembrance for lives lost in the war. He also expressed gratitude to Sybiha for the warm hospitality and highlighted the progress made in bilateral relations since his arrival in Kyiv.
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