Ghana Has Issued An Ultimatum To Russia
- 18.08.2026, 7:45
Lavrov agreed to comply with the demands.
Ghana has accused Russia of “illegally recruiting” Ghanaians to fight in the war against Ukraine. Following talks in Moscow, the African republic’s foreign minister Samuel Okudzet Ablakwa stated that his counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed to work toward resolving this issue, according to "Interfax". According to Ablakwa, 62 of his compatriots have been killed in Ukraine, and another 15 are listed as missing.
Lavrov confirmed that Ghanaian citizens had signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense, but stated that they did so “out of solidarity with a country that had also helped them fight racism” and “for financial reasons.” The foreign minister also noted that Moscow had received similar requests from other countries. “There is a special unit within the Ministry of Defense that reviews [these requests], and I am convinced [that it] will also review the additional requests received today from our Ghanaian friends,” Lavrov said.
The recruitment of citizens from African countries to bolster Russian forces on the front lines is causing concern in the region. The authorities in South Africa and Kenya had previously made similar demands of Moscow. In February, Kenyan intelligence reported that Russia had fraudulently lured more than 1,000 Kenyans to participate in the war. Many of them were promised jobs as truck drivers or security guards.
In South Africa, five suspects were also detained on suspicion of recruiting mercenaries for the Russian army. In November 2025, Bloomberg reported that Duduzila Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, was involved in this activity. According to the agency, she convinced 20 men that they would travel to Russia for bodyguard training courses so they could work for her father’s party in the future.
In July, Botswana’s authorities also reported on the fraudulent recruitment of their citizens to fight in the war against Ukraine, noting that the number of victims of such schemes is “growing at an alarming rate.” Panama, a Latin American country, subsequently leveled similar accusations against Russia. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry responded by stating that “the contracts signed are voluntary in nature.”
According to The Telegraph, by the end of 2025, Russia had lured into the war approximately 18,000 citizens from 128 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; at least 3,300 of them were killed in combat.