Russia accuses Ukraine of its own subversive activities in Africa – MFA
The Russian Federation has intensified its systematic disinformation campaign against Ukraine in African countries and baselessly accuses the Ukrainian state of allegedly "dangerous activities," "undermining the foundations of statehood and sovereignty" of independent African countries, supplying weapons and providing support to illegal armed groups, and plans to destabilize the countries of the African continent.
"We officially refute all of the above-mentioned Russian accusations, which have no basis or evidence," the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, published on the website of the foreign ministry on Wednesday, reads.
It is noted that Russian propaganda has thrown its entire arsenal against Ukraine: from baseless accusations in the media and the spread of disinformation by networks of pro-Russian bots in social networks, to the spread of fake documents and other outright fakes.
"It is noticeable that Russia accuses Ukraine of what it itself 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 war crimes," the Foreign Ministry notes.
The department emphasizes 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 and has proven this with real deeds, increasing its diplomatic presence on the continent, developing cooperation in a number of industries and providing significant support within the framework of the Grain from Ukraine program.
"It is regrettable that Russia is trying to transfer its war and confrontation with Ukraine to the African continent. We strongly condemn Russia's attempts to draw African states into political confrontation. Ukraine seeks to develop bilateral relations with African partners without the intervention of third states. We view the intensification of Russian disinformation against Ukraine as Moscow's attempts to prevent the comprehensive intensification of relations between Ukraine and African states, which has been observed over the past years. We assure the governments of African countries of our sincere intentions to develop mutually beneficial cooperation for the sake of increasing the well-being and self-sufficiency of our states," the statement says.