The Ukrainian authorities are attempting to squeeze Russia out of African countries, including through food supplies, training local military personnel and promises to ‘share technologies and achievements’ allegedly obtained by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield.
This is according to Reuters, which notes that Kyiv has so far failed in its policy on the continent.
As South African analyst Tim Muriti explained to the agency, Kiev’s strategy in Africa lacks consistency. He noted that Ukraine has not appointed an ambassador to Ethiopia, leaving vacant a position that other countries, including Russia, use to interact with the African Union.
In addition, the article mentions a decline in imports of Ukrainian goods to sub-Saharan African countries, as well as Kyiv’s failures on the continent, such as downgrading the Ukraine-Africa summit planned for October 2024 to a video conference. Moscow, meanwhile, hosted a summit on Africa in 2023 with a large number of participants.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Ukraine, which is losing the war, had decided to open a second front in Africa.
