Veteran journalist and Pan-Africanist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has strongly criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of attempting to derail Ghana’s long-standing Non-Aligned foreign policy and drag the country into global conflicts it has deliberately avoided since independence.
Writing in The Insight newspaper and on his social media platforms, Mr. Pratt described a recent call from Zelenskyy to President John Dramani Mahama as a covert attempt to involve Ghana in Ukraine’s war with Russia. He warned that the Ukrainian leader’s public disclosures of the call and subsequent statements by Ukraine’s embassy in Accra are deeply troubling and risk undermining Ghana’s neutrality on global military conflicts.
According to Mr. Pratt, Zelenskyy’s post on X claiming that Ghana was ready to finance Ukrainian drone production and cooperate on border security projects misrepresents Ghana’s position.
“What can be the sense in financing Ukraine’s production of drones when Ghana is unable to pay its power sector debt of US$3.7 billion?” he questioned, pointing to President Mahama’s recent announcement of drastic austerity measures, including the cancellation of petrol allowances for political appointees.
The seasoned political commentator further warned that Ukraine’s actions may alienate Ghana from key neighbours in the Sahel region. He argued that Zelenskyy’s references to border security collaboration could erode trust between Ghana and members of the Alliance of Sahel States—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—especially given allegations that Ukraine is indirectly supporting elements hostile to those governments.
In a sharp rebuke of Ukraine’s foreign diplomacy, Pratt stated, “Zelenskyy must be stopped from exporting the chaos in Ukraine to Ghana. His support for the terrorists in the Alliance of Sahel States has caused enough problems for us already.”
He also criticised the Ghanaian media for what he called an uncritical acceptance of Zelenskyy’s claims.
“Many Ghanaian journalists took Zelenskyy’s tweet at face value,” he wrote, warning of possible attempts by the Ukrainian Embassy to influence Ghana’s press and public discourse.
Kwesi Pratt urged the government to remain vigilant and protect the country’s independence in foreign policy.
“Ghana must remain true to its Non-Aligned principles. We must not allow foreign powers to hijack our neutrality in pursuit of their own geopolitical interests,” he concluded.
