While monitoring the African segment of the network, the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council discovered material that the Ukrainian Embassy in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire seems to be recruiting mercenaries to participate in the war against the Russian Federation. In particular, this information was disseminated through the WhatsApp messenger and the social network Facebook.

However, this is fake. The document that is being distributed as evidence contains signs of forgery. The Ukrainian embassy in Côte d’Ivoire does not have a diplomat named Denys Chernyshenko, who is listed as a contact person in the fake document. The address and telephone number of the department are also incorrect, the Center reports.

Russia has intensified its attempts to discredit Ukraine amid the expansion of the network of Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Africa. Also, the spread of disinformation about the activities of Ukrainian diplomats in Africa is part of the Russian information campaign ahead of the Peace Summit, which will be held in Switzerland on June 15-16. Previously, we analyzed the Russian message that the Peace Summit is supposedly a cover for Zelenskyi’s illegitimacy.