This was reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty citing a statement by Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. He wrote on Facebook that the agreement was reached during talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama at the “Russia – Africa” summit in Moscow on October 28–29.
Ablakwa clarified that this applies to any circumstances: both to periodic recruitment and to cases where Ghanaian citizens sign contracts themselves. According to him, the Russian Ministry of Defense will no longer recruit Ghanaian citizens for the war in Ukraine.
Media outlets regularly report that foreign citizens are fighting in the ranks of the Russian army in Ukraine. Reports also say that in poor countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the recruitment of men for the war on Russia’s side is active, and some foreigners end up at the front through deception: they are promised well-paid work in Russia, for example on construction sites, but instead they find themselves in the army.
According to the Ukrainian project “I Want to Live”, at least 661 citizens of Kazakhstan, 902 of Uzbekistan, and 360 of Kyrgyzstan are fighting on Russia’s side. In total, according to the project’s estimates, citizens from 121 countries around the world have been recruited into the Russian army, and more than one hundred foreign mercenaries from 33 countries are in Ukrainian captivity, including Cameroon, Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Benin, and Egypt.
In February 2026, it was reported that a list of 36 countries from which recruitment has been suspended had appeared. It is unknown whether Ghana was included in it, and Russian authorities usually do not comment on the presence of foreign mercenaries in the ranks of the Russian army on the Ukrainian front.
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