I do think that the new generation of Africans genuinely want to emancipate from what is viewed as the oppressive nation, i.e. the one that colonized the country, exploited the resouces and brutalized the population for more than a century.
China and Russia are viewed as plausible partners that don’t have a history of imperialism in Africa so why not work with them?
In my opinion, France coming back with military bases to fight islamists after the terrorists attacks of the mid-2010 made things worse, more so because it didn’t work that well.
Finally yes, Putin is doing everything he can to undermine Western powers: making Germany dependent on cheap gas, pushing for Brexit, for Trump’s election, funding neo-fascists in EU countries and, in the case of France, pushing the anti colonialism narrative everywhere in West Africa. It is working to an extend.