UK deals blow to Russia's disinformation push in Africa

BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday are expected to decry US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" trade tariffs, saying they are illegal and risk hurting the global economy. [AFP] The United Kingdom's recent sanctions against Russian individuals running affairs in Europe and African countries that it considers spies has turned out to be a blow to Vladimir Putin's information manipulation strategy on the African continent. The mid-July sanctions by the UK against 'spies running a campaign to destabilize Europe' spread to an online news agency African Initiative, which The Standard reported in July as a platform that Western Europe considers a tool for disinformation pushed by Moscow and now taking root in Africa. The sanctions extended to the top leaders and founders of the agency Victor Lukovenko, Artyom Kureyev and Anna Zamareyeva. Lukovenko is linked to Russian Military intelligence (GRU) and is also known as Viktor Vasilyev and was a liaison officer with African Initiative's local offices and produced a number of articles for the African Initiative website. According to a report published in June by a French think-tank Viginum, a copy of which we have in our possession, Lukovenko is a "blogger and self-proclaimed expert" on West Africa and publishes on his own Telegram channel "Smile and Wave" (@afric_ylbIbka). READ: Observers warn Africa of Russia's growing influence on the continent Prior to this, he was sentenced to eight years in prison in Russia for killing a person from a different race. He claims to be the founder and treasurer of African Initiative's NGO and local counterpart in Burkina Faso. In July 2024, he stated that he had left African Initiative and subsequently participated in new project called "Central Asia Initiative", he was later arrested in Kyrgyzstan in April 2025, suspected of recruiting mercenaries to participate in armed conflict abroad Artyom Kureyev on the other hand was Editor-in-Chief of Africa Initiative news agency. He is also linked to a previous role in the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). In December 2024, he was sanctioned for involvement in coordinated disinformation campaigns in Europe and Africa. He has several links to Russia Intelligence Services (RIS) - he once presented himself as a deputy head of the Baltic Spaces Research Centre" which is part of a Moscow-based think tank suspected of being a front for RIS Anna Zamareyeva according to Viginum was previously employed as a spokesperson for Wagner PMC. Following the launch of African Initiative, she became Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the publication. The report said, she has "been involved in politics and charities for several years" In his statement UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens. "The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won't tolerate it. That's why we're taking decisive action with sanctions against Russian spies" He said "protecting the UK from harm is fundamental to this government's Plan for Change. Putin's hybrid threats and aggression will never break our resolve. The UK and our Allies support for Ukraine and Europe's security is ironclad". The Standard learns that since the outbreak of Russia's war on Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Moscow has isolated itself from Western countries, forcing it to seek new partnerships on the international stage, particularly in Africa. ALSO READ: How Russia-backed Africa Corps is destabilising markets Its strategic pivot towards the continent, enshrined in the Russian Federation's 2023 Foreign Policy Concept, has resulted in a strengthening of Russia's information influence strategy resulting in increased Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) efforts at multiple levels. Last month The Standard reported details of a report by a French think-tank Viginum incorporating the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth and Development office and the European External Action Service which said many questions arose about the future of PMC Wagner's digital influence activities on the African continent after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023. And following months of investigations by independent bodies working with government ones and civil society European think- tanks established that some of the activities that the Wagnar Group was running still continue, albeit in a different form. "The activities are likely to be integrated into the Russian state's sphere of influence" Says the Viginum report from Public diplomacy to covert influence operations adding "This new system is centered around African Initiative, a Russian news agency based in Moscow created in September 2023 with the ambition of becoming the main "information bridge between Russia and Africa." Russia's President Vladimir Putin attending a virtual summit of the BRICS group of nations (the bloc that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, in Moscow on November 21, 2023. [AFP] The news agency African Initiative works to disseminate and promote classic anti-Western and pro-Kremlin propaganda through its various channels (websites and social media accounts), in several languages, including French says the report. The agency is led by individuals suspected of having ties to the Russian intelligence services (RIS) suggesting that the structure is a front, unofficially administered by the RIS to disseminate propaganda. A perusal of the news agency's website reveals a media entity that is open to re-publishing news reports by other media with an eye that skews its reportage in favour of Moscow and a negative slant towards the US and the Trump administration. ALSO READ: How Russia resorted to cleverly messaged communications targeting Africa after Wagner Most preferred content is the kind that reminds the world of Western Europe's neo-colonialism on the African continent and Russia's 'friendly attitude' towards Africa. One of the stories on the agency's website is headlined; Russia to deliver mobile anti-epidemic laboratory to Burkina Faso. The reporting reinforces Russia's interest in Burkina Faso and a readiness to help a country heavily criticized by the West following its broking links with France after the 2022 coup.The story says during his visit to Burkina Faso, Russian Minister of Energy Sergey Tsivilyov handed over a certificate for a mobile anti-epidemic laboratory, developed by Rospotrebnadzor, to the country's President Ibrahim Traore. As specified, the laboratory is fully manufactured in Russia and is capable of conducting up to 800 tests per day for more than 20 infectious diseases, including especially dangerous ones. The delivery is part of the co-operation programme with African countries to combat epidemics, implemented at the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation. Another piece reads Guinea-Bissau minister: Moscow has always supported Africa. And the story reads Russia has always supported Africa throughout its development, and today contacts with Moscow are helping the continent to rid itself of the influence of Western neo-colonialism, said Guinea-Bissau Minister of Natural Resources Malam Sambu on the sidelines of the conference Russia's industrial and economic potential in the context of developing trade co-operation with the African continent. The story goes ahead to quote the minister thus; "Speaking about the advantages of working with Russia, we recall that it has always been by our side and supported us. We want to develop these contacts, and in this way we stop thinking about Western neo-colonialism. Of course, we are ready to co-operate with new regions, ready to visit Russia. These visits must be organised for further joint work. It is simply necessary to arrange these trips so that we can see the [Russian] regions and start co-operating," The event, organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Togo-Russian Group, brought together politicians and business representatives from Russia, Togo, Benin, Guinea-Bissau and other African countries- the story reads.

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