THE United Kingdom has sanctioned the African Initiative, a Russian organisation operating as a news agency and three of its leaders for their roles in a hybrid influence campaign across Africa.
The sanctions, implemented on July 18, 2025, follow a report published in June by VIGINUM, the French government’s watchdog against foreign information manipulation, in partnership with the UK Foreign Office and the European Union External Action Service.
In the report, investigators revealed that the African Initiative is not an independent news outlet but a front for Russian intelligence operations and digital disinformation strategies.
The 40-page report, titled: “African Initiative: Anatomy of a State-Controlled Influence Operation”, lays bare the Initiative’s tactics, ranging from AI-driven fake media to grassroots infiltration via local NGOs.
VIGINUM called for greater coordination among African media regulators, civil society groups, and international watchdogs to counter what it described as a “long-term soft power war” unfolding beneath the radar.
The report identified the African Initiative as a key component of Russia's state-controlled efforts to spread pro-Kremlin ideology and anti-Western narratives.
Established in Moscow in September 2023, the African Initiative is suspected of being a front for Russian intelligence services (RIS) and is closely aligned with the Russian state.
It combines overt public diplomacy with covert information manipulation to exploit discontent and exacerbate divides.
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The organisation operates as a news agency, spreading pro-Kremlin and anti-Western propaganda online.
It also promotes the "Africa Corps," the successor to the Wagner Group.
The sanctioned individuals are all linked to "Project Lakhta," a digital influence operation founded by the late Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
One of the sanctioned individuals is Artyom Kureyev, the editor-in-chief of the African Initiative.
He has been linked to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) and was previously sanctioned in December 2024 for his involvement in coordinated disinformation campaigns in Europe and Africa.
Another sanctioned individual is Viktor Lukovenko, who is identified as a liaison officer for the African Initiative's local offices and a contributor of articles to its website.
Lukovenko, who is linked to the Russian Military Intelligence (GRU), was previously convicted in Russia for a racially motivated murder.
In April 2025, he was arrested in Kyrgyzstan on suspicion of recruiting mercenaries.
Also sanctioned is Anna Zamareyeva, the deputy editor-in-chief.
She was previously a spokesperson for the PMC Wagner Centre from 2022 to 2023.
“It’s a strategic campaign to destabilise, divide, and ultimately control narratives across Africa,” said a European diplomat familiar with the investigation.
The report also details the group's tactics, which extend beyond its news agency function.
The African Initiative maintains a network of local NGOs in countries like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which are facilitated by local employees to amplify pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives.
These NGOs with names like Perspective Sahélienne and Ensemble main dans la main Niger-Russie host cultural events, run media training programmes, and forge ties with local journalists and influencers to embed Russian narratives at the grassroots level.
It also establishes long-term influence by developing community relationships through sporting, cultural, and health events.
One of its key tools is "Al-Freak," an information manipulation set (IMS) that uses deceptive, AI-generated content on pseudo-media websites.
This content, which can be in the form of images, text, and video, is then amplified through inauthentic X accounts and other methods.
Investigators also identified a sophisticated information manipulation system called “AI-Freak”, which uses AI-generated content to fake images, text, and videos across multiple pseudo-media sites.
One such outlet, newstop.africa, targets Francophone audiences with pro-Russian narratives disguised as legitimate news.
The operation is bolstered by bot accounts, coordinated amplification networks, and backend infrastructure featuring Russian-language coding and Cyrillic metadata.
Despite publishing over 18,000 articles by April 2025, the Initiative’s digital reach remains limited, averaging just 35,000 visits per month on its main site.
Evidence of Russian involvement includes Russian language settings and Cyrillic script in the back-end code of these sites.
The group has also launched a mobile social app called "AFree" as an alternative to Western platforms.
The app has been heavily promoted in Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon and Morocco.
