More than 1,700 Africans are fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Wednesday, accusing Moscow of using deception to recruit foreign nationals.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Ghana’s foreign minister, Sybiha said Ukraine was in talks with African governments to prevent their citizens from being drawn into the conflict.
“We clearly see that Russia is trying to drag African citizens into a deadly war,” Sybiha said. “According to our data, there are currently over 1,780 citizens from the African continent fighting in the Russian army.”
He said the fighters came from 36 countries across Africa.
Russian authorities have denied illegally recruiting Africans to serve in their armed forces. However, reports have increased in recent months of African men being lured to Russia with promises of civilian jobs, only to be sent to the front lines in Ukraine, straining Moscow’s relations with some African states.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said many of those fighting were victims of deception, recruited through online networks advertising non-military work.
“They have no security background. They have no military background. They have not been trained,” Ablakwa said. “They were just lured and deceived, and then put on the frontlines.”
Ablakwa expressed solidarity with Ukraine and called for a ceasefire to end the war, which entered its fourth year this week. He said he would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to release two Ghanaian prisoners of war captured while fighting for Russia.
Ghana, which is set to chair the African Union next year, would promote public awareness campaigns to counter trafficking networks involved in deceptive recruitment for Russian forces, Ablakwa said.