At UN, Zelenskyy asks Ghana and 46 other states to keep citizens out of Russia's war

Pinned summary · as of 04:43

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told the UN General Assembly in New York on 23 September that Russia is using nationals of 47 countries, Ghana among them, in its war against Ukraine. He asked their governments to protect those people. Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has earlier given casualty figures for Ghanaians who travelled to Russia.

What we know

• Mr Zelenskyy addressed the General Assembly's 81st session in New York on 23 September 2026 and listed Ghana as one of 47 countries whose nationals, he said, Russia is using in the war.
• Rainbow Radio Online, Pulse Ghana and Nkonkonsa all report that he also named Nepal, Cuba, Belarus, India, Yemen, Kenya and Tajikistan, along with Zimbabwe and South Africa.
• The Ukrainian leader called on the governments concerned to look after their nationals and stop them being drawn into the conflict.
• Mr Zelenskyy said many of the foreigners in the fighting got there through deception and not by choice. This is his account of how they were recruited.
• Mr Ablakwa has said young Ghanaians were lured abroad by job offers. Pulse Ghana reports that he described them as fraudulent overseas employment schemes.
• The Ghanaian side says it is in contact with foreign authorities about citizens affected by the recruitment.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Casualty figures differ. The Press Radio quotes Mr Ablakwa as saying in August that 62 Ghanaians had died and 15 were missing, and Rainbow Radio Online cites reports with the same numbers. Pulse Ghana quotes him as saying 272 Ghanaians were drafted, 55 of them have died and two are held as prisoners of war.
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  Rainbow Radio Online cited reports that several Ghanaians were tricked into going to Russia and then forced into military service. The reports are not identified and no other coverage repeats the claim.
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  Rainbow Radio Online alone lists Sudan among the countries Mr Zelenskyy named and says he reported formal requests from foreign governments for the return of specific prisoners of war.
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  Pulse Ghana alone reports that Mr Zelenskyy said drone footage shows non-Russians from these countries dying on the battlefield after being brought to Russia by deception.
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  The Press Radio alone reports that Mr Zelenskyy gave no breakdown of Ghanaian numbers or individual cases in his address, and that he urged countries to limit economic activity that gives Russia the means to continue the war.
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  The Press Radio alone reports Mr Ablakwa saying Ghana raised the matter with Russian authorities and that Russia pledged to work with Accra. Pulse Ghana alone reports that in July he said officials were probing suspected criminal networks behind the recruitment.

Why it matters for Ghana

Families of young Ghanaians who took up job offers abroad are left with unclear answers about how many people have died or are missing, since the figures attributed to the foreign affairs minister do not match. The appeal from Kyiv puts added diplomatic pressure on Accra to show what it is doing about recruitment schemes aimed at job seekers. Ghana's ability to protect its citizens abroad, and to warn people before they travel, is now under public scrutiny.