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Russia listed Ivory Coast as a “promising country” for influence operations — then ran four anti-Ukraine campaigns there in five months

Leaked documents from the Russian network “The Company,” analyzed by France 24, reveal how Moscow ran four disinformation campaigns against Ukraine in Ivory Coast in 2024.

byYuri Zoria

06/04/2026

5 minute read

russia listed ivory coast promising country influence operations — ran four anti-ukraine campaigns five months · post materials russia's disinformation campaign against ukraine internal files côte d'ivoire fake ukrainian embassy

Materials from Russia’s disinformation campaign against Ukraine in Ivory Coast: internal country files on Côte d’Ivoire, a fake Ukrainian embassy concert announcement stamped “debunked,” and the fraudulent army recruitment flyer. Image: France 24 Observers / Documents from The Company / The Continent

Russia listed Ivory Coast as a “promising country” for influence operations — then ran four anti-Ukraine campaigns there in five months

A Russian disinformation network known as "the Company" ran four covert influence campaigns in Côte d'Ivoire between May and September 2024, according to France 24. Three of those targeted Ukraine's newly opened embassy in Abidjan with fake army recruitment flyers, fabricated cultural events, and hundreds of paid articles placed in West African media outlets. The operation is documented in 76 leaked internal Company documents analyzed by an international consortium of investigative outlets, including France 24 Observers, The Continent, Forbidden Stories, All Eyes On Wagner, and RFI.

Russia's broader disinformation campaign targets countries it views as susceptible to anti-Western messaging, using paid articles, fabricated social media content, and fake documents to undermine support for Ukraine globally. Russia has escalated its information warfare across Africa as it seeks to replace Western influence in the region, building on Wagner Group's earlier foothold in the Central African Republic, Mali, and Sudan.

The Company and its Africa operation

The Company was originally founded and run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group financier killed in a plane crash in August 2023. After his death, the network came under the auspices of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service. The Company operates out of St. Petersburg, employs around 90 specialists, and runs influence operations in nearly 30 countries across Africa and Latin America.

A 2023 internal document laying out the Company's "Africa Project" listed the Ivory Coast as a "promising country in which to launch operations."

russia listed ivory coast promising country influence operations — ran four anti-ukraine campaigns five months · post 2023 company's internal africa project files dark grey countries where network already running — A 2023 map from "The Company's" internal Africa Project files. Dark grey countries are where the network was already running operations; light grey are listed as "promising countries for launching operations" — including Ivory Coast. Image: Documents from The Company / The Continent

The country's stated offense in Moscow's eyes: it sides with the EU "on all international resolutions concerning the Ukrainian question." The Company's goal in Ivory Coast was to discredit French and American influence and shift local public opinion against Kyiv.

russia listed ivory coast promising country influence operations — ran four anti-ukraine campaigns five months · post internal document russian disinformation network company describing run between 2024 including fake claim — An internal document from the Russian disinformation network "The Company," describing four influence campaigns run in Ivory Coast between May and September 2024 — including a fake claim that Ukraine's embassy was recruiting Ivorian citizens for the war. Image: Documents from The Company / The Continent

It had been operating in the Central African Republic since 2018, and has since expanded to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — the three countries that formed the Alliance of Sahel States in 2023.

Four operations in five months

Ukraine's embassy in Abidjan opened in April 2024. Less than a month later, the Company's first campaign against it began. Between May and September 2024, the network ran four influence operations targeting Ivory Coast, three of them explicitly directed at the Ukrainian embassy.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov during a meeting on enhacing ties with Africa. Source: The President's Office

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Launched in May 2024, the first campaign falsely claimed Ukraine’s embassy was recruiting Ivorians to fight in Ukraine. Yellow-and-blue flyers circulated online and, according to the Company’s internal documents, appeared in Abidjan, offering a $3,000 bonus and European residency. The embassy denied any involvement and said it had seen no sign of the flyers in Abidjan.

russia listed ivory coast promising country influence operations — ran four anti-ukraine campaigns five months · post fake recruitment flyer attributed ukraine's embassy $3000 european residency ivorians willing fight ukraine — A fake recruitment flyer attributed to Ukraine's embassy in Ivory Coast, promising $3,000 and European residency to Ivorians willing to fight in Ukraine. The Ukrainian embassy in Abidjan confirmed it had never produced or seen the flyer. Image: GhanaWeb

In July 2024, the Ghanaian news site GhanaWeb published an article claiming the recruitment flyers had been spotted in the streets of the Ivorian capital. The article was published in a paid promotional space. The Company's internal financial documents show it paid $700 for the placement — more than double the $250 GhanaWeb charges for such space.

In September 2024, a fake invitation to a "music evening organized by the Embassy of Ukraine in Côte d’Ivoire" spread widely on Facebook and WhatsApp. The embassy denied the document's authenticity.

Paid placements across West Africa

Alongside its social media operations, the Company systematically paid for the placement of 49 articles targeting Ivorians in 22 media outlets between May and October 2024. According to its internal documents, the campaign was part of Project Magadan— a Prigozhin-era operation that the Company continued running — and cost $39,800 in total, or about $631 per article.

russia recruited over 1000 kenyans killed 50+ ghanaians duped dozens south africans — all three governments keeping relations moscow · post kenyan mercenary clinton mogesa 29 eliminated ukraine while fighting

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A broader dataset from the leaked documents shows nearly 650 articles placed across 35 West African French-language outlets between June and October 2024, at rates of $250 to $700 per placement. Some outlets were paid directly. Others received free pre-written articles through intermediaries.

One Ivorian journalist who published 18 of the Company's articles told the investigative team he had no idea they came from a Russian intelligence operation.

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Marc-André Boisvert, an analyst with Cronos Europe, explained why this model works in Ivory Coast: some local newspapers take outside articles to fill pages once they have covered their preferred politicians.

Limited real-world impact

Experts interviewed by the consortium doubted the campaigns had much effect. Ivorian factchecker Mohamed Kebe said the fake recruitment story generated “a lot of noise” online, but he never saw the alleged street flyers. Analyst Boisvert said the operations drew “very little reaction” and had “no significant impact on Ivorian opinion,” suggesting they were aimed more at the Sahel states than at Ivorians, to paint Ivory Coast’s government as being on the wrong path.

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