Ukraine – the new soft power in Africa?

Martin Tancer

The full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine greatly changed the geopolitical environment of the whole world. Both sides are, besides the military actions against each other, also actively trying to spread their message around the world, find allies and strengthen their influence. One of the battlefields in this effort is Africa, a continent with a lot of developing countries, which search for foreign investments, but also with a lot of resources and a considerable weight on the global scene. In this article, we will explore the policy of the Ukrainian government towards Africa and try to evaluate its results.

„One of the battlefields in this effort is Africa, a continent with a lot of developing countries, which search for foreign investments, but also with a lot of resources and a considerable weight on the global scene.“

Photo: President of Ukraine

What even is “soft power”?

Defining the concept of soft power is crucial to understanding this topic. International relations theoretists Paul Viotti and Mark Kauppi describe this concept as “non-material capabilities that can aid the attainment of a state’s objectives” (Viotti & Kauppi, 2013, p. 207). We can say that soft power is those areas of the state’s foreign policy that do not include any sort of military action or economic sanctions. The state can use, for example, its culture, values or diplomatic traditions to gain influence in the world. A good example of a cultural, rather than military, power is Switzerland – it’s a small country that has kept neutral since the 19th century, yet it is still known by almost everybody in the world thanks to its industry, diplomacy and neutrality. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, soft power tools have become a very important part of Ukraine’s foreign policy. The activities are very diverse – the president and the first lady regularly travel all around the world, Ukrainian artists raise awareness about the war on the global stage, people are learning the Ukrainian language, and a Ukrainian organisation even obtained the Nobel Peace Prize. The country also scored massively in the Global Soft Power Index, raising its position from the 61st spot in 2021 to the 37th spot in 2023, before falling back to the 46th spot in 2025 (Brandirectory, 2025). This may not look like a perfect result, especially when Russia stands in 16th place; however, we have to keep in mind that in some parts of the world, Russian influence is historically very strong, and its narratives damage the perception of Ukraine.

This is where Africa comes into the game. Ukraine currently manages its policies in Africa according to two documents – Strategy of Ukraine’s Relations with African States (2022) and the Ukraine – African Countries Communication Strategy (2024), both published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The strategies declare an “aspiration to effectively participate in the continent’s strategic processes” and say that Ukraine and African countries “share a history of struggle for freedom, building independence, finding their place on the world stage, and establishing state and national identity” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, 2024). However, Ukraine has a strong opponent in this game. Russia has been an active player in Africa for some time already, organising summits with African leaders and providing some free food aid on one side and military support in various states on the other side. One of the strongest African states, South Africa, is a part of the BRICS alliance and conducts military exercises with Russia. Ukraine, at the same time, did not have the means to build its influence on the continent, adopting its first African strategy only one month before the invasion in January 2022. At the start of the invasion, the African continent was quite divided on the opinion about the conflict, as the UN General Assembly vote demonstrates – 28 African countries voted to condemn the invasion, 25 abstained, and one supported Russia. When we look at this year’s vote on the same topic, it looks even worse for Ukraine – only 13 countries supported it, while 8 voted with Russia (Tisserand, 2025). While this may look like a sign of Russia gaining more support in Africa, the Ukrainian side is not completely passive and tries to establish itself as a relevant partner for the countries of the continent.

„Russia has been an active player in Africa for some time already, organising summits with African leaders and providing some free food aid on one side and military support in various states on the other side.“
„The communication strategy of Ukraine directed towards African countries has its purpose defined as “strengthening support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression and developing strategic long-term, mutually beneficial, and friendly relations with the countries of the African continent”

Ukraine’s attempts to find its place in Africa

So, what have been the policies of Ukraine towards African states in the last 3 years of the invasion? Firstly, the country focuses on expanding its network of embassies on the continent. There are currently 18 Ukrainian embassies in African countries, which is a significant increase from the pre-war situation, when Ukraine did not have their representation in some big players like Tanzania, Rwanda or the Ivory Coast. Apart from opening embassies, the number of visits of Ukrainian officials to Africa and vice versa has intensified in the last 3 years. Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba visited 14 African countries, and a new Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa was appointed, who visited an additional 5 countries on the continent (Atamanenko & Konopka, 2024).

An important question in Ukraine-Africa relations is the supply of grain from the “breadbasket of Europe”, as Ukraine is sometimes nicknamed, to the developing African countries. As Russia regularly attacked ships transporting grain in the Black Sea, some African countries started to fear problems with hunger. After an agreement with Russia on grain exports in 2022, the Grain for Ukraine program was launched, which allowed Ukraine to use maritime export for its grain, albeit far less than before the war. The program is financed by Ukraine and various international sponsors. After Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, the Ukrainians managed to secure the continuation of the program independently from the Russians. In my opinion, this program is the strongest soft power tool of Ukrainian diplomacy, because it presents a very concrete example of help to the African countries and a good opportunity for the Ukrainians to show their solidarity with Africa, while Russia is obstructing food security on the continent.

The communication strategy of Ukraine directed towards African countries has its purpose defined as “strengthening support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression and developing strategic long-term, mutually beneficial, and friendly relations with the countries of the African continent” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, 2024). One of the most important Ukrainian narratives in this communication is the comparison between the colonial struggle for independence of the African countries and the Ukrainian struggle for independence from Russia. Personally, I think this is a very strong message, as African countries can very much relate to this position, and if Ukraine manages to present it convincingly, it could help her bring more of the African public opinion on her side.

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Two steps forward, one step back

However, there are also some downsides to the increased Ukrainian engagement in Africa, which largely contribute to the fact that the country is not as successful in bringing the African states on its side as it would like to be. Some African countries view Ukraine as a part of the collective West, which in their eyes represents the centuries of colonial oppression and a desire to meddle in their internal affairs even after gaining independence. In recent years, we have seen a couple of anti-Western coups taking place in some West African countries, like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, and the leaders of these countries now also accuse Ukraine of supporting anti-government rebels. Mali and Niger even broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine after an attack by rebels against soldiers of the Malian army and the Russian mercenary Wagner Group, which killed dozens of Malian soldiers. The Malian government claims that the rebels are supported by Ukrainian intelligence, a statement which was not denied by the Ukrainian officials. Another similar case is the reports of Ukrainian special forces being deployed on the side of the Sudanese army, which fights a bloody civil war against the rebellious Rapid Special Forces.

„Another similar case is the reports of Ukrainian special forces being deployed on the side of the Sudanese army, which fights a bloody civil war against the rebellious Rapid Special Forces.“
„A good sign is the fact that different strategies and the appointment of officials and diplomats contribute to the rising importance of Africa in Ukraine’s foreign policy.“

Conclusion

In conclusion, we could say that the development of relations between Ukraine and the countries of Africa is still a big geopolitical challenge for Ukrainian diplomacy. A good sign is the fact that different strategies and the appointment of officials and diplomats contribute to the rising importance of Africa in Ukraine’s foreign policy. There have been some concrete achievements, mainly in the field of food security and establishing formal relations with new countries. Nevertheless, Ukraine still loses the battle over influence in Africa with Russia in many countries, which view the war as a European conflict, where they don’t want to participate, and some of them are more willing to accept the Russian narrative of the war, as they have their own bad experiences with the military presence of Western countries. We also cannot forget the fact that Russia has much more human resources and financial means to invest in Africa, and it tries to follow the positive image of an anti-colonial power, which the Soviet Union successfully created in large parts of Africa. To conclude, I think that Ukraine is not without any chances in this battle, it will, however, be crucial to find new ways to make itself attractive to the countries of Africa.

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Martin Tancer is an Intern at the Strategic Analysis Young Leaders Programme

Disclaimer: Views presented here are those of the author solely and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Strategic Analysis. 

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