Ukraine and Russia tussle for attention and influence at BRICS summit

As the BRICS summit gets underway in Johannesburg this week, bringing together the main players of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa with dozens of other countries outside the 'global West', Russia and Ukraine are looking at the event as a way to cement international relationships as they compete for influence.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said recently that the country intends to ramp up its strategic outreach to African partners after decades of neglect.

"Many years have been lost,” he said, “but we are going to push ahead with a Ukrainian-African renaissance, revive these relations.”

Citing “coercion, corruption and fear” that Russia uses to wield power in numerous African countries, Kuleba insisted that "We don't want to be another Russia. Our strategy is not to replace Russia, but to free Africa from Russia's grip."

Among the countries he named as places where Russian influence is “eroding” were Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Rwanda and Equatorial Guinea.

However, Russia nonetheless has a formidable presence in various corners of the African continent. It has provided security support to several states, particularly in the form of the mercenary group Wagner, a critical player in chaotic Libya and the unstable Central African Republic.

However, Wagner's intimate connections to the Kremlin have come under immense strain in recent months, with chief Yvgeny Prigozhin publicly excoriating the management of the Ukrainian invasion, then leading what briefly looked like an insurrection against Putin's rule before agreeing to leave Russia for Belarus.

With the future of Wagner uncertain and the Russian military flailing in Ukraine, the Kremlin is ill-equipped to maintain the level of