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Two Ghanaian POWs in Ukraine have begged for pardon from both Ghanaians and Ukrainians for their roles in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The two men are being kept at an undisclosed location after being apprehended by Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield last year. Their names are Kojo and Kofi.
On Thursday, February 26, 2026, at around 12:30 a.m., when a government delegation headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa visited the facility, the two admitted that their choice to join the war effort was ill-advised and had damaged Ghana’s standing as a peaceful countries.
For clemency, they made direct appeals to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President John Dramani Mahama.
“We are very sorry for what we did. We ask President John Dramani Mahama and the people of Ukraine and their government to forgive us and spare us.”
“We know people all over the world know Ghana as a peaceful country with peace loving people, but we have stained that status. We are not proud of what we did and we ask Ghanaians and Ukrainians for forgiveness.”
“We know we have hurt a lot of people; but we ask for forgiveness. We’re also very sorry to our families; we know they’re very much worried about us,” Kojo, a father of one, added regretfully, “Let our families know that we’re alive and continue to remember us in your prayers.”
If liberated, Kofi added, they would be motivated to change their ways and aspire to be advocates alerting Ghanaian youngsters to the perils of the conflict and what he called the “theatrics of agents who recruit unsuspecting young Africans.”
Kojo described the events leading up to his recruitment, stating that he was persuaded to enlist in the Russian military because he was having trouble paying his tuition in 2024.
He claimed that after accepting an offer to work as a fire rescue officer with a guaranteed signing bonus of 1.9 million Russian roubles and a monthly pay of 200,000 roubles, he was later forcibly sent to the front lines of war by his Russian superiors.
He revealed that despite the funds being stored in Russia’s BTB Bank, he had not benefited much personally from them. He explained that he had sent 500,000 roubles home to buy supplies for a Kumasi orphanage.
Kojo claimed that all of his unit’s members perished in bomb explosions amid fierce combat, leaving him alone himself on the battlefield. He said that instead of being killed by Ukrainian bombardment, he was taken prisoner.
Kojo claimed that despite receiving humanitarian treatment at the camp, he still has metal shards from an explosion in some areas of his body, which causes him to experience agony on and off.
Graphic designer Kofi said that a Russian police officer had constantly warned him about exceeding a 14-week visa that had been issued to him in Russia, luring him into joining the Russian military.
He explained that after a change in command, he was sent to the front lines after being excluded from combat activities for the first eight months.
Kofi claimed that after seeing several of his countrymen slain in fighting, he fled the battlefield and turned himself in to Ukrainian forces, which resulted in his capture.
He further disclosed that, during the time of his training, around ten Ghanaians had been enlisted in the Russian army after signing contracts with an agent who had promised them respectable professions.
He said that he was unable to verify the location of those Ghanaians’ deployment or their survival.
According to Kojo, recruitment into the Russian army has turned into a profitable business for agents, who are said to keep 30% of each African recruit’s pay.
The two men affirmed that prisoners of war from other African nations, such as Nigeria, Egypt, Burundi, Algeria, Morocco, and Uganda, are also housed in the camp.
Russian recruitment of 1,785 Africans from 36 African nations, including Ghana, was reported by Ukrainian officials in a previous briefing.
Speaking to the detainees, the Foreign Affairs Minister expressed the government’s pardon and reiterated its commitment to ensuring their release.
“President Mahama says I should tell you that he has forgiven you. The people of Ghana have also forgiven you. We’re committed to working with the Ukrainian officials for your release. We have discussed that President Zelenskyy, but we still have some paperwork to do. We hope and pray that we can secure your release soon to commence your rehabilitation and reintegration and to also become ambassadors for peace and advocating against the criminal networks recruiting vulnerable young people to fight in this war,” he said.
Mr Ablakwa also stated that the government was dedicated to supporting efforts for a ceasefire to enable for peaceful negotiations and to put an end to the recruitment of innocent Africans into a conflict in which they should not be involved.
He also urged young Ghanaians, especially those seeking chances abroad, to perform rigorous background investigations before accepting job offers.
The Minister stated that the government would take decisive action to dissolve the cartel or syndicate of agents that are endangering the lives of vulnerable Ghanaians on the battlefield, frequently against their consent.
Source: newsthemegh.com
