Ghanaian reported killed while fighting for Russia in war against Ukraine
A 42-year-old Ghanaian man, Isaac Aboagye-Mensah, who hails from Adanwomase, near Bonwire in the Ashanti Region is reported to have died fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Even though the incident is said to have happened in April this year, news is now reaching his family and friends.
There is no official information about the incident, nor where on the battlefield he died or how he died, but his Facebook page has in the past couple of days been flooded with posts and comments from friends who were communicating with him and knew about his intention to go to Russia to fight.
The posts and comments are expressing shock at the fact that he had actually gone to fight in that war and had died as a result.
In an online conversation with one friend shared on social media, it was clear he was aware of the potential dangers he faced as a soldier in that war.
“It’s a risky decision,” he wrote, “so I pray God sees me through.” But he didn’t make it.
Aboagye-Mensah went to school at the Kumasi Academy and later studied at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). He later worked as a teacher and then as a banker with Bayport, a financial institution, his Facebook profile shows, before travelling to Qatar and eventually Russia.
From snippets of videos and posts seen on social media, Russia is actively, but subtly recruiting young people from Africa to fight in its war. Some ‘travel agencies’ have also sprang up and are offering services to desperate young people from Africa who are seeking escape from the economic and social malaise confronting many on the continent – hoping to find greener pasture in Russia.
“It’s a risky decision,” he wrote, “so I pray God sees me through.”
Ghana Business News has spoken to some friends and acquaintances of Aboagye-Mensah who were communicating with him until they lost contact with him in February this year.
One friend who knew him and was aware of his plans to join Russian troops at the battlefront in the protracted war with Ukraine didn’t want to be named. Speaking to Ghana Business News, this friend said Aboagye-Mensah told him in October last year that he wanted to travel to Russia. “He even asked me to help him financially. He asked for GH¢19,000. But I could only meet him halfway,” the friend said.
“He said he had got a two-month visa to Russia, and he needed the money for a ticket before his visa expired. In fact, he left two days to the expiration of his visa. I have been communicating with him on WhatsApp, until February this year, when he didn’t respond to my messages. My messages to him had one tick, until I’m now hearing about his death.”
A childhood friend, Boamah Osei-Owusu who said he knew him when they were both eight years old, told Ghana Business News that Aboagye-Mensah, also called Kojo who has three children, but isn’t married, was working hard to give his children a better life. One is said to have completed Senior High School.
“He had gone to Qatar to work. He came back to Ghana and returned to Qatar. He then told me he was going to Russia to work but didn’t say what type of work. When he got to Russia, he told me there was a chance to join the military in that country,” he said.
Osei-Owusu said he tried to dissuade him. “But he was determined. In January this year, he confirmed to me that he has joined the military. He sent me videos of his training.”
“In the latter part of February, I stopped hearing from him. A friend from Jamaica who lives in the US, later told me Kojo has been hurt,” he said, adding that, that was the last time they heard from him.
According to Osei-Owusu, Aboagye-Mensah had told a friend that they were going to a place where the war was intense, and they won’t be able to talk on phone.
A video of Aboagye-Mensah during training in Russia. Source: Osei-Owusu
Osei-Owusu who lives in the US said he came to Ghana in April this year and tried to get information about him, but no one gave him any information.
“I had also seen videos on TikTok of people from Ghana who have died fighting for Russia. I called a Ghanaian I know in Russia, but the person couldn’t confirm.
Last Sunday his auntie called me to confirm that he had died. She said a Russian commander had called to tell her about the death but said there was no sign of how he died. No gunshot wounds nor knife wounds,” he said.
He had these to say about Aboagye-Mensah: “We used to play together. His mother is from the Volta Region. His father died when he was young. He was brilliant. He wanted to go to law school. Someone must have convinced him to join the military in Russia. But the question is, who led him?” He queried.
Another friend, Matilda Wilson who said she knew him on Facebook and they communicated often on WhatsApp messaging app, also said she heard only yesterday that he had died on the warfront.
“I found out yesterday, because the last time we spoke was in February. According to his commander, he didn’t die from gunshot or bomb explosion. He was a civilian with two weeks training for war,” she said.
She described him as intelligent, smart, hardworking, free spirit, a friend to many, witty and funny.
“Last Sunday his auntie called me to confirm that he had died. She said a Russian commander had called to tell her about the death but said there was no sign of how he died. No gunshot wounds nor knife wounds,” he said.
Russia on February 24, 2022, invaded Ukraine as a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014. The invasion has been described as the largest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Even though the Russians believed they could overrun Ukraine and end the war just in a matter of weeks, the war has continued for more than two years now, and recently, Ukraine forces have made a counter-invasion of Russia and took control of approximately over 1000 square kilometers of land in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, according to Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky.
The size of land seized by Ukraine is said to be about the same size of land Russia has seized in Ukraine. Kyiv is reported to be working towards establishing a military authority in the area.
Speaking in June this year at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, President Akufo-Addo said Africa has been the greatest victim of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The consequences of the invasion go far beyond the confines of Europe. Indeed in many ways, Africa has been the greatest victim,” he said in his remarks at the summit.
While it is hard to confirm current figures, by March this year, official figures suggested that there were more than 200 Africans fighting in the war on both sides. Nationals of countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Sudan and Somalia have been identified to be fighting in the war, and unspecified numbers have been reported dead, wounded or captured by some news sources.
Apart from social media posts, there has not been official information on the involvement of Ghanaians in the war.
Ghanaian journalist, Eliasu Tanko thinks the phenomena puts the security of Ghana in danger. Citing the security situation in the Sahel where Russian soldiers are currently in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, he said yesterday Foreign Ministers of the three countries or the alliance of the Sahel States have written to the UN for action to be taken against Ukraine for allegedly supporting rebels in northern Mali, to a large extent supporting terrorism in the Sahel.
“So, to have Ghanaians actively involved in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine is deeply troubling,” he said.
In May, a ClassFM report said jobless Ghanaians and other Africans were heading to the Russia-Ukraine warfront for as little as $2000 per month salary.
While the uncertainty remains about the number of Ghanaians on the Russia-Ukraine warfront, and how many have died, are wounded or captured, Isaac Aboagye-Mensah, is unfortunately, a certain casualty of a war far away from where he called home.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi
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