Billboards against the recruitment of Africans into the Russian army have gone up in Accra. The posters were placed by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War through the projects I Want to Live, I Want to Find and StopRussianRecruiters. The StopRussianRecruiters project announced the placement on October 30, 2026.
The installation was funded by the headquarters' partners, who supported the spread of information about the recruitment of citizens of African countries to fight against Ukraine.
According to the headquarters, the personal data of at least 5,451 citizens of 43 African countries who signed contracts with the Russian army is known as of October 2026. In total, Ukraine has identified 45,959 foreigners from 151 countries who have signed contracts with Russia's armed forces.
The posters are aimed at people who do not follow Ukrainian news and do not see official channels. I Want to Find helps relatives of missing and captured people, including Africans, get information about the fate of their loved ones. I Want to Live allows Russian servicemen who do not want to fight against Ukraine to surrender safely. The websites of the three projects have been translated into several languages.
The Ghanaian angle is already shifting the agenda. Ghana's Foreign Minister Samuel Ablakwa said that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to stop recruiting Ghanaian citizens after a conversation with President John Mahama on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on October 30. The Russian Embassy in Ghana denies that the recruitment of Africans was illegal.
