Ghanaian men recruited to fight for Russia ask for help from occupied Ukraine

The surviving members of a group of 14 men from Ghana who were lured into the Russian army to fight against Ukraine have appealed for help from Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, Ghanaian news channel TV3 reported on September 19.

With casualties in the war in Ukraine mounting, Russia continues to try to fill the ranks of its army with foreigners and migrant workers to avoid another wave of domestic mobilization.

According to TV3, the men arrived in Russia on August 6 and were taken to Kostroma, a city in western Russia, 300 kilometers northeast of Moscow.

Another man from Ghana is said to have lured the group. He promised them well-paid jobs in Russia. The men said they had paid for their own flight tickets and visas. They had been promised that they would get a job in security, but would first have to complete military training.

The men said they then signed a contract in Russian, a language none of the men speak, and their passports were later confiscated.

Three men from the group told TV3 that they were being held against their will in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region and that they were convinced they were the only survivors of the original group of 14.

Other members of the group were allegedly taken to fight and one man escaped, but his whereabouts are unknown.

“We are currently in Ukraine… we have no combat experience,” one man told TV3. “We are begging, we want to return home.”

The families of the 14 men have asked the Ghana Police Headquarters for help, TV3 journalist Godwin Asediba posted on X on September 20.

Similar cases of foreigners being lured into the Russian army have been reported in India, Egypt, Nepal and Cuba, despite efforts by those countries to crack down on the smuggling rings and recruitment programs that drive the men to Russia.

Bloomberg reported in June that Russia was forcing African students and migrants to fight by threatening to revoke their visas if they did not agree to join the military.

Indian media reported on September 12 that 45 Indians who had been tricked into joining the Russian military in Ukraine had been released after the Indian government intervened and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July.