RUSSIAN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS IN THE SAHEL
April 2026
Editos/Fondemos’ view
FONDEMOS’ VIEW
The leak of nearly 1,400 pages of internal documents, transmitted anonymously to the pan-African media outlet The Continent and analyzed by a consortium of journalists in 2026, reveals a Russian influence apparatus of unprecedented scale established since 2021.
At the heart of this apparatus lies an organization called “The Company“, comprising 90 communication experts, placed under the direct supervision of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). It operates through systematic disinformation campaigns designed to influence civil societies and shape political dynamics across the African continent. According to Forbidden Stories, a network of investigative journalists, this plan for “reformatting Africa” is based on propaganda operations led by former agents close to Evgueni Prigozhin, head of the Wagner militia and who died in August 2023.
The methods employed combine paying journalists to relay pre-written false content and buying fake Facebook accounts to spread pro-Russian content. More than 400 articles are said to have been commissioned from African journalists, while the media face an economic crisis that renders them vulnerable to foreign influences.
What distinguishes “The Company” from a simple disinformation campaign is its structuring ambition. Direct influence operations are being carried out with politicians and opinion leaders. A document written in August 2023 describes the project for a “Confederation of Independence“, intended to become “a center for the further expansion of Russian influence“. This encompasses an arc stretching from Guinea to Somalia, with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger at its core. One month later, the Sahel States Alliance was created, bringing together these three countries led by military juntas that came to power through coups d’État. Documents also mention operations in Chad and Senegal, with a 2023 note outlining plans to “contribute to obtaining support from competent Russian authorities in the event of a military coup d’état scenario“.
The religious vector deserves also particular attention. In three years, the Russian Orthodox Church has grown from 5 to 350 parishes across the African continent. This rapid expansion illustrates a continuum of influence: the religious sphere functions as a lever for cultural legitimacy and recruitment for Russian operations.
The pattern that emerges is as follows: exploit grievances (anticolonialism, aspirations for monetary sovereignty), amplify them through carefully targeted disinformation campaigns, and support political dynamics favorable to Moscow.
