MFA warns of Russian disinformation campaign against Ukraine in Africa

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is observing a significant increase in Russian disinformation against Ukraine in African countries, and has rejected Russian accusations that have no basis in fact or evidence. This is stated in the official statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Russian officials and Moscow-linked media and bloggers are throwing into the information space unsubstantiated insinuations accusing Ukraine of allegedly "dangerous activities," "undermining the foundations of statehood and sovereignty" of African countries, supplying weapons and providing support to illegal armed groups, and planning to destabilize countries or entire sub-regions of the continent.

"Russian propaganda has actually thrown its entire arsenal against Ukraine: from unfounded accusations in the media and the spread of disinformation by networks of pro-Russian bots on social media to the distribution of forged documents and other outright fakes. We officially refute all these Russian accusations, which have no basis in fact or evidence," the statement reads.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Ukraine seeks to develop relations with African states on the basis of mutual respect for the sake of prosperity, progress and strengthening of sovereignty. Ukraine has proved this approach by deeds, having almost doubled its diplomatic presence on the continent, developing cooperation in agriculture, technology, energy, education, digitalization, and providing support under the Grain from Ukraine program.

"We are developing cooperation with the African Union and supporting African initiatives in the international arena, as well as increasing the representation and strengthening the role of African states in the UN Security Council and other international platforms. We are grateful to African countries for supporting efforts to restore a just peace for Ukraine and, in turn, assure our African partners of our support for peace and stability," the Ministry added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Russia is accusing Ukraine of doing what it is doing. After all, it is Russia that sends mercenaries and private armies to African states that support unconstitutional regimes, plunder natural resources, cause destabilization and chaos, and commit numerous crimes.

The ministry added that Russia is trying to transfer its war and confrontation with Ukraine to the African continent. They condemned Russia's attempts to drag African states into a political confrontation and viewed the intensification of Russian disinformation against Ukraine as Moscow's attempts to prevent the intensification of relations between Kyiv and African states.

"We assure the governments of Africa of our sincere intentions to develop mutually beneficial cooperation to increase the welfare and self-sufficiency of our states," the Foreign Ministry summarized.

• On July 13, the intelligence service reported that Russia is increasing its information presence in African countries, by building networks of the TASS propaganda resource and the RT TV channel.
• On July 14, the DIU reported that the amount of resources received by Russia from African countries has not decreased – on the contrary, the occupiers are working even harder to increase their number.