Observers warn Africa of Russia's growing influence on the continent

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Burkina Faso's junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore arrive for talks in Moscow on May 10, 2025. [AFP]

As the popularity of Burkina Faso interim president Ibrahim Traore spreads across the African continent, a picture of him meeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin in May (2025) made rounds causing speculation about the role of Russia in Burkinabe political affairs and by extension other parts of the continent.

British Broadcasting Corporation reported about Russia’s involvement in the October 2022 coup in the West Africa troubled republic especially after celebrating youths waved Russian flags in the streets of the Capital, Ouagadougou.