00:00On a rare diplomatic visit to Kyiv, Ghana's foreign minister sought to reassure his Ukrainian counterpart.
00:08Ghanaian nationals who enrolled in the Russian army did so without their government's knowledge or consent.
00:14They were just leered and then deceived and put on the front lines in the battlefield.
00:21And it is important to emphasize that their actions, regrettable, unfortunate, they should be seen as victims.
00:31They are not engaged in any sanctioned activity.
00:36Such claims have multiplied in recent weeks, all painting a similar picture.
00:41African citizens were lured to Russia under false pretenses, often to work a high-paying job,
00:47before being forced to enroll in the army and sent to fight on the front line.
00:52In the past few months, countries such as Uganda, Kenya or South Africa have been rocked by such cases,
00:59in which a majority of foreign fighters end up captured or killed.
01:04And while Ukraine acknowledged these mercenaries were usually manipulated by Moscow,
01:09it urged Ghana and others to introduce concrete measures to counter Russia's abusive recruitment tactics.
01:18Russia is trying to drag citizens and residents of Africa into a spiral of death and war.
01:26According to our data, more than 1,780 citizens from the African continent are currently fighting alongside the Russian army.
01:39After hailing Ukraine's humane handling of prisoners of war,
01:44Ghana's foreign minister called on President Zelensky to show compassion
01:47and release two Ghanaian nationals recently captured on the front line.
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