Russia’s Foreign Ministry has accused France and Ukraine of collaborating with terrorist groups in Africa, in what analysts describe as a disinformation campaign aimed at deflecting attention from Moscow’s own activities in the Sahel region.
Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko claimed on July 17 that France is using Ukrainian citizens to change governments in African states, according to a statement reported by Russian media outlet Lenta. Borisenko specifically alleged that Paris is working with the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group operating in Mali, and that France, Ukraine and other states are “engaging in terrorism” by using such groups.
The accusations follow a pattern of Russian propaganda that attributes to opponents the very practices Moscow has employed. Over the past decade, Russia has used the Wagner Group — later rebranded as the African Corps — to overthrow legitimate governments, carry out military coups and exploit natural resources in Mali, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso and Libya. Several countries and international institutions have designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.
Borisenko’s remarks coincide with recent military setbacks for Russian mercenaries in Mali, where Tuareg fighters from the FLA inflicted losses on Russian forces. The Kremlin has sought to reframe those defeats as part of a broader conspiracy involving Paris and Kyiv, while waging a hybrid war against France in the Sahel. The stated goal, according to observers, is to entrench in the Global South a narrative of French neocolonialism using covert means and radical groups.
The claim that France cooperates with JNIM is contradicted by years of French counterterrorism operations. Paris conducted Opération Serval from 2013 and later Opération Barkhane, which fought jihadist groups across the Sahel, including Al-Qaeda affiliates, until French forces largely withdrew from Mali in 2022. Russia, by contrast, has been accused of exploiting the resulting security vacuum to expand its influence.
Russian diplomacy’s focus on Africa aims to shift the international agenda away from Moscow’s war in Ukraine and its war crimes, instead promoting allegations of a Franco-Ukrainian plot in the Sahel. Borisenko’s statement is part of a broader disinformation effort to justify Russia’s neo-imperial expansion in Eastern Europe and undermine Ukraine’s diplomatic standing across the Global South.
