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At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine after being “lured into battle”, Ghana’s foreign minister has said after a visit to Kyiv in which officials raised the issue of Russian recruitment of African people.Reports of African men being attracted to Russia by promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s frontlines have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved.Russian authorities have denied illegally recruiting African citizens to fight in Ukraine. The foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said in a post on X on Thursday: “We were informed that 272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into battle since 2022 for which an estimated 55 have been killed and 2 captured as prisoners of war.”At a media briefing on Tuesday, Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, who was standing alongside Ablakwa, said more than 1,780 Africans from 36 different countries were fighting in the Russian army.Ghana, which has economic and diplomatic ties to Russia, intended to raise awareness about recruitment and to dismantle “dark web illegal recruitment schemes operating within our jurisdiction”, Ablakwa said in his post on X. “This is not our war and we cannot allow our youth to become human shields for others,” he said.The minister said Ghana’s government would intensify public education and work to “track and dismantle all dark web illegal recruitment schemes” operating in the country. He added that the two captured Ghanaians had warned young people against being tempted by financial incentives to join the conflict.South Africa’s government said this week that two of its citizens had died on the frontlines of the conflict. The two were separate from a group of 17 South Africans who were tricked into fighting for Russia in Ukraine and who had mostly been…

Ghana's Foreign Affairs Ministry/FacebookUkraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ and his Ghanaian counterpart Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa paid their respects to those killed in the warAt least 55 Ghanaians have been killed fighting in the war in Ukraine, with two others currently held as prisoners of war, Ghana's foreign affairs minister says. On a trip to Kyiv, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that about 272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into the conflict since 2022, citing Ukrainian authorities.Ablakwa described the figures as "depressing and frightening," saying Ghana "cannot turn a blind eye to these heartbreaking statistics".He did not say whose side the Ghanaians had been fighting on but Ukraine's foreign minister said on Wednesday that more than 1,700 people from 36 countries in Africa had been recruited to fight for Russia.The 55 Ghanaians is the highest number of casualties from a single African country to have been officially confirmed in the Ukraine-Russia war.Local media in Cameroon have reported that 94 of its nationals have died in the conflict, but the authorities have not commented on these figures.Two South Africans and at least one Kenyan have died in the conflict.Ablakawa said the casualty figures were "not just numbers, they represent human lives, the hope of many Ghanaian families and our nation". He said the Ghanaian government was committed to "tracking and dismantling all dark web illegal recruitment schemes" as well as launching intensive public awareness campaigns to prevent the country's youth from being drawn into the conflict."This is not our war and we cannot allow our youth to become human shields for others," he added. A total of 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia in its four-year war against Ukraine, said a report from Kenya's National Intelligence Service (NIS), released last week.Russia's embassy in Kenya has denied accusations that…

Mark Leonard welcomes Jennifer Kavanagh to talk about Ukraine’s security architecture and the consequences of a US foreign policy that deprioritises Europe Senior fellow, Defense Priorities Director Podcast Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes 27 February 2026 Apple Podcasts Spotify RSS As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year, negotiations are finally entering a productive phase. Mark Leonard is joined by Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, and author of the new report, “An Armed Nonalignment Model for Ukraine’s Postwar Security”, to examine Ukraine’s security status and US foreign policy towards it. Mark and Jennifer explore her proposal that Ukraine should position itself as an “armed nonalignment” state, the future of the transatlantic alliance, and America’s National Defense Strategy.   Can Ukraine be nonaligned but also “armed to the teeth”? Could it become a porcupine that Russia cannot swallow? What should Europe and Ukraine do if future US foreign policy focuses more on the Indo-Pacific and the western hemisphere? Could Russia feasibly invade Ukraine again? And what happens if it does?  Bookshelf  An Armed Nonalignment Model for Ukraine’s Postwar Security by Jennifer Kavanagh   The bear in the Baltics: Reassessing the Russian threat in Estonia by Jennifer and Jeremy Shapiro  Season 4 of Bridgerton on Netflix   Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff on Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2) by Vanity Fair   Susie Wiles Talks Epstein Files, Pete Hegseth’s War Tactics, Retribution, and More (Part 2 of 2) by Vanity Fair  This podcast was recorded on 30th January 2026 

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Many in Ukraine assume that the alerts are automated. A rare look inside an emergency-response center reveals the specialists who do the pressure-packed job.Alina Ustiuhova, a supervisor, left, with colleagues in a secret air-defense facility below ground in Kharkiv, Ukraine.Credit...Brendan Hoffman for The New York TimesFeb. 26, 2026As on most nights, Russian forces were targeting cities across Ukraine, threatening civilians and vital infrastructure. Gliding across the border were two guided bombs headed in the direction of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.At a secret facility deep below ground, Ukrainian specialists were watching and waiting, fingers at the ready. If the city was the target, they would need to act even before the military’s air defenses engaged, switching on citywide sirens to warn residents to take cover.Such sirens are an eerie soundtrack to the war, a shared experience for Ukrainians in towns and cities across the country. But how they actually work — and who is behind them — has been a closely guarded secret.Last month, the city of Kharkiv gave The New York Times rare access to its emergency-response center, where teams of civilian specialists save countless lives with the flip of a switch and the push of a big red button on a computer screen. The work is not automated, as many Ukrainians assume.“I try to do everything as quickly as possible,” said Dmytro, 23, one of the specialists, who for security reasons asked to be identified only by his first name. That way, he said, “people have more time to hide.”ImageDamage from a Russian strike in Kharkiv.Credit...Brendan Hoffman for The New York TimesThank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in…

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTUkrainian officials said they hoped that trilateral peace negotiations could take place next week.VideoRussia Launches Major Attack Hours Before U.S.-Ukraine TalksRussia unleashed a series of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine on Thursday, injuring at least 20 people and damaging buildings in eight different regions.CreditCredit...ReutersFeb. 26, 2026American and Ukrainian negotiators met for hours on Thursday in Geneva to prepare for the next round of trilateral peace negotiations with Russia, which Ukrainian officials hope could be held as early as next week.The negotiations started hours after Russia pummeled cities across Ukraine with drone and missile strikes. The attacks wounded at least 20 people and damaged buildings in eight regions, including in Kyiv, the capital, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in a post on social media on Thursday that the Russian strikes had targeted gas infrastructure and power substations.The latest barrage was launched just days after Ukraine marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.The strikes took place shortly before Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, began talks in Geneva with Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s chief negotiator and head of the National Security and Defense Council, along with several other Ukrainian officials.Mr. Umerov said on social media that the talks lasted about seven hours. He said the Americans and Ukrainians also talked with Swiss officials.Most of the talks focused on finalizing how Ukraine’s security would be guaranteed after any peace deal, as well as on an economic package, Mr. Umerov said.“The task is to make the next trilateral meeting involving the U.S. and Russia as substantive as possible,” he said.Mr. Zelensky had said that the talks would focus on organizing the next meeting with Russia and would include discussion of what the Trump administration has described as a “prosperity package” for Ukraine to…

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe South African leader said that the men had come home two weeks after he had won agreement from President Vladimir V. Putin.South African men who said they had been duped into fighting for Russia after arriving in Durban, South Africa, on Wednesday.Credit...Rajesh Jantilal/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFeb. 26, 2026Fifteen South African men duped into fighting for Russia in Ukraine have come back home, government officials said Thursday.The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, said in an interview that the return of the men came two weeks after he spoke with President Vladimir V. Putin by phone and secured a promise of their release. The Russian leader assured him that they would be paid for their work, he said.“Putin really would have given an order that those young men must be taken back,” Mr. Ramaphosa said.Two other South Africans were killed on the battlefield, government officials said, though it was unclear how they had ended up there.With the war in Ukraine now in its fifth year, both sides face extraordinary levels of casualties — and the need for more soldiers.Reports of African men being recruited for work abroad only to end up on the front lines in Ukraine have surfaced from South Africa, Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa.“We clearly see that Russia is trying to drag African citizens into death and war,” Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said at a news conference in Kyiv on Thursday. “More than 1,780 citizens from the African continent are currently fighting in the Russian army.”Mr. Sybiha, who was joined by Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said Russia had pressed soldiers from 36 countries in Africa into military service. Their participation “in hostilities on the side of Russia is a major challenge,” he said.Mr. Ablakwa pleaded for the release of two Ghanaians captured…

Mark Leonard welcomes Mark Malloch-Brown to talk about the future of the Bretton Woods institutions Director Podcast Mark Leonard's World in 30 minutes 20 February 2026 Apple Podcasts Spotify RSS This week Mark Leonard is joined by Mark Malloch-Brown. Mark is the former president of the Open Society Foundations, former head of the United Nations Development Programme, formerly UN secretary general Kofi Annan’s chief of staff, and former UN deputy secretary general. From 2007-2009 he joined the British government of prime minister Gordon Brown as minister responsible for Africa and Asia.   Together, Mark and Mark discuss how the role and impact of the Bretton Woods institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF, have changed. How can these institutions adapt to the rough-and-tumble world of 21st-century geopolitics—especially considering China’s increased support for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and projections that Asia will hold 50% of global GDP by 2035?  Is Mark Carney right that there is a rupture in the old order? How did the Bretton Woods institutions underpin the old order? Are the World Bank and IMF problematic and outdated? Is it possible to reinvent these institutions for a new era? Or is it better to work through new, more representative institutions?  Bookshelf  1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History – and How It Shattered a Nation by Andrew Ross Sokin   Facing Up to the Future: Navigating Disruption, Building Trust by Patrick Achi, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Mark Malloch-Brown  News and reflections from Mark Malloch-Brown by Mark Malloch-Brown  This episode was recorded on February 6th 2026