How unemployed Ghanaians and African youth move to the war front between Russia and Ukraine for $2,000 a month

New details continue to emerge about reports that Ghanaians are being lured to Russia with the promise of civilian employment, only to be sent to the war front in Ukraine and die there.

One of those recruits is Daniel Minta, who, according to reliable sources within the civil service, fled from his Russian army unit after basic training and has sought shelter in the Ghanaian embassy in Moscow, where he has been living since January 2024.

Embassy officials are now trying to find a solution to Minta’s plight.

Although Minta is still believed to be under contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, questions exist about the circumstances under which Minta and other Ghanaian and African youths lured to Russia were recruited for military service rather than the promised civilian employment.

In March this year, social media was flooded with videos of Twi-speaking armed black soldiers in Russian military fatigue, proudly proclaiming to the whole world that they were Ghanaians fighting on the war front for Russia.

Ghana is not the only country where Russia has set its sights on exploiting desperate youth to strengthen its armed forces.

International reports indicate that similar underground recruitment is taking place in Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, with the promise of a monthly salary, health insurance and a Russian passport.

In Cuba, Russia is accused of using similar tactics.

In May, a BBC investigation revealed that Russia’s Ministry of Defense forced hundreds of Cuban citizens into military service and promised the fighters future Russian citizenship.

Other Cubans claimed they were offered construction jobs in Russia but were then sent to Ukraine’s eastern front.

In September 2023, Cuba also discovered a human trafficking ring that wanted to recruit fighters for Russia.

These unfair recruitment practices shed light on Russia’s questionable activities in Ghana and Africa.

Russia may be taking advantage of poor economic conditions to exploit Ghanaians looking for honest work.

Russia appears to have exhausted its own human resources, including criminals from prisons, and is now turning to African youth as the next source of expendable lives to fuel the war in Ukraine.

On May 28, 2024, the Kiev Independent reported that Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) said it had picked up signals indicating that Russia has intensified the recruitment of mercenaries in Central Africa.

It says the recruitment was recorded in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Uganda.

According to the report, a specially created unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense is carrying out the process.

Fighters are lured into war by a cash payment of $2,000 for signing a contract.

According to the report, the Russians promise a monthly wage of $2,200 and health insurance.

They also offer a Russian passport for those who agree and their relatives.

The intelligence also recalled how mercenaries from Nepal, recruited by Russia, abandoned the army en masse due to numerous losses and treatment.

The Ukrainian news site said, “Russia is trying to attract foreign volunteers for the war,” while referring to the National Resistance Center’s earlier report that Russia “has already recruited tens of thousands of Asian and African citizens.”

Also, The Defense Post reported two days ago that the existence of African mercenaries in the Russian army was noticed since 2023, when the “Russian Africa Corps” was created to replace the Wagner group after the death of its leader.

The unit consists of more than 2,000 soldiers and officers and is reportedly operating alongside Moscow’s regular army and Storm-Z units, the Defense Post said.

Many of these mercenaries served in the Wagner group and already had experience in Syria, Libya, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Last week, the British Ministry of Defense said the Afrika Korps had been spotted fighting in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

This could mean that Russia is “strengthening its war against Ukraine with resources previously allocated to Africa,” the Defense Post quoted.

According to military.africa, social media has surfaced images of captured or deceased African mercenaries, sparking debates over the extent of African participation in the war. It says that despite the African countries’ official neutral stance, these mercenaries act independently, without any African country officially deploying troops to support either side.

The motivations for these lucky African soldiers vary, militayr.africa noted, with some seeking financial gain or citizenship, while others may have been forced into service.

It added that the reasons for African involvement are varied.

While some, like Gomesh Richard Ferreira, a Ukrainian soldier with Angolan roots, fight for the country they call home, others, like Jean Claude Sangwa, a student in the breakaway Luhansk region, find themselves caught in the middle and forced to the sides . Still others, like Kimanzi Nashon of Kenya, are motivated by the hope of financial gain.

Russia confirmed last November via its Sputnik news channel, according to military.africa, that a young Nigerian “came to fight against Ukraine and took the Russian name Vanka,” but said it is currently uncertain whether “Vanka” is still alive. .

About two months ago, data released by the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Ukraine announced that five Zimbabwean mercenaries were fighting on their side (Ukraine), one of which has since been reported killed on the battlefield.

However, Military.africa said security sources said the number could be higher, as high as 10, with three of them believed to be former soldiers in their home country of Zimbabwe.

Military.africa said a total of 249 mercenaries from 14 countries in Africa have arrived in Ukraine since the war began two years ago, killing 103.

Nigeria tops the list with 97, followed by Algeria with 60 and South Africa with 35. Zimbabwe and South Africa are the only countries in southern Africa with mercenaries operating in Ukraine.

Military.africa noted that official figures suggest more than 200 Africans have joined the Ukrainian armed forces, while estimates indicate more than a thousand have joined Russia.

In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to pro-democracy countries for support, with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba noting that around 20,000 volunteers worldwide had expressed interest in joining the fight.

Volunteers from many African countries responded to the call.

Military.africa recalled that in Nigeria, for example, many gathered at the Ukrainian embassy in Abuja, eager to enlist, even though officials made it clear that Africans were not paid to fight and would have to cover their travel costs to Europe.

Senegal and Algeria also responded by warning their citizens against participating and declaring such recruitment efforts illegal. South Africa’s strict anti-mercenary laws further complicated the situation.

While some volunteer to serve on both sides, others are lured or coerced into doing so.

A briefing was held at the Ukraine Media Center with the participation of captured mercenaries who shared their stories of how they ended up on the front lines.

“They were thrown in as cannon fodder because they weren’t trained. Some of them were deceived, which means they were promised one thing, but in reality it turned out to be completely different,” said a representative of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko.