Ivory Coast is Russia’s new target in Africa’s information war – and the Kremlin wants to turn a success story into chaos

Coup! Ouattara is gone.” She looks up. Outside, the traffic flows, the sun sets, and the city is calm.

The coup never happened. But for a few moments, she believed.

This is the new battlefield in West Africa.

Not tanks, not columns of fighters, but waves of disinformation, much of it linked to Russia and its affiliates, aimed at destabilising Ivory Coast. And it is happening for one reason: Abidjan represents a rare success story - democratic, economically dynamic, and a close Western ally.

For Moscow, that makes Ivory Coast a prime target. It is not a fragile state teetering on collapse, but one of Africa’s quiet economic miracles. Over the past decade, growth has averaged more than six per cent. It was recently described as Africa’s “best-kept secret.”

Much of Russia’s disinformation in the region has been pushed by pan-Africanist influencers sympathetic to Moscow, who cast coups as patriotic acts while dismissing elected governments as “neo-colonial” projects. These are narratives that fit neatly into the Kremlin’s long game of weakening trust in democratic institutions.

This was not spontaneous chatter.

Investigations traced many of the posts to networks operating from neighbouring countries, where Russian influence has grown. The aim was clear - sow distrust in the Ivory Coast’s institutions, make democracy look fragile, and normalise the idea of regime change.

Equally important to Russia is the country’s support for Ukraine.

Ivory Coast backed Ukraine at the United Nations, welcomed Kyiv’s first West African embassy in 2024, and is in discussions on security and technology cooperation - including drones. The United States, having lost its drone base in Niger after a coup, is negotiating with Abidjan to establish a new hub.

At the same time, Ukraine backed the Ivory Coast with trade already worth over $100 million, while also exploring technology and defence cooperation that includes drone training and security partnerships.

For Kyiv this is a way to expand its diplomatic footprint and to demonstrate that it can contribute beyond its own war; for Moscow it is a provocation.

Bread and drones may seem an unlikely pairing, yet together they capture the stakes with clarity, because in Côte d’Ivoire both food security and technological sovereignty are being contested at the same time, and both are being manipulated by the Kremlin’s information war.

Alongside mercenaries and propaganda, Moscow also leans on culture and technology to extend its reach. In Ivory Coast, Russian embassies and institutes host “Days of Russian Language and Culture,” complete with lectures, festivals and dictation exercises such as the Russian Geographical Dictation, written across more than 25 African countries.

These events are presented as harmless cultural exchanges, but they weave Moscow’s narratives into schools and universities, blending language lessons with soft propaganda. Cultural diplomacy is paired with education programmes, scholarships and “friendship” initiatives designed to anchor Russian influence in everyday life.

The push is not confined to classrooms.

Yandex, Russia’s equivalent of Google, has rolled out services across West Africa, including taxi platforms in Ivorian cities. What appears to be convenience and modernisation is also a channel for Moscow’s digital footprint - embedding Russian brands and systems into daily routines while its disinformation campaigns hum in the background.

It is the same playbook that Moscow has already run in Mali and the Central African Republic. Russian contractors arrived under the banner of providing “security,” demanded precious minerals in return, and flooded the airwaves with propaganda. Russia portrayed themselves as Africa’s saviour, even as mercenaries looted resources and entrenched repression.

Russian channels often rail against French colonialism, yet Moscow’s tactics mirror the very sins it condemns.

Russian aggression in Ukraine has increased prices at market stalls and bakeries in Abidjan. In 2021 more than a fifth of the country’s wheat came from Russia, and when Moscow blockaded Ukrainian ports and restricted exports, the cost of bread rose steeply.

The United Nations Development Programme documented the strain this placed on households, yet Russian outlets spun the crisis as the fault of Western sanctions, when in reality it was driven by Moscow.

These pressures create fertile ground for disinformation. A raid in Korhogo is exaggerated into “national collapse.” Refugees are smeared as infiltrators. Every crack is magnified until it looks like a fracture.

If Ivory Coast is destabilised, the Kremlin gains three things. It weakens a thriving democracy. It disrupts Western security operations in the region. And it sends a message that any African country supporting Ukraine risks chaos.

But the opposite is also true.

If Abidjan withstands this campaign, holds credible elections in 2025, and continues its economic and political trajectory, it will prove that Moscow’s model can be resisted.

Ivory Coast is not being targeted because it is fragile, but because it has become a rare success: stable, growing, and a Western ally willing to stand with Ukraine.

Moscow cannot topple Abidjan with tanks, so it tries with rumours, feeding lies about coups and shortages to turn strength into doubt.

In this digital war, Ivory Coast is more than a nation under pressure - it is the outpost holding the line against Russia’s advance in West Africa.

__________________________

Mykola Kuzmin is Operations Manager at The Henry Jackson Society where he helps oversee their research programme.

LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk