[AFP]Some 55 Ghanaians have been killed while fighting in Ukraine, the country's foreign minister said on Friday, promising a crackdown on illicit recruitment schemes luring citizens to Russia under false pretences. His Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiga, told him that more than 1,780 Africans from 36 countries were fighting Ukraine as part of Russia's forces. AFP reporters met prisoners of war from Kenya, Togo, Cameroon and Nigeria during a visit to detention centre in Ukraine late last year. President Cyril Rampaphosa this week expressed his "heartfelt gratitude" to Vladimir Putin for the return of South Africans lured into fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. "The recruitment scandal makes clear that the Ukraine war is no longer a distant geopolitical issue for African governments," the International Crisis Group said in a new report published on Friday.

Source: Daily Nation February 27, 2026 20:44 UTC