The military continent: Ukrainian militants have launched a rapid activity in Africa
Russia has evidence of the arrival of militants of Ukrainian origin in a number of African countries, Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, told Izvestia. In Mali, as Aliu Tunkara, a member of parliament, told Izvestia, terrorists began receiving drones from Ukrainian mercenaries. The Russian Embassy in Burkina Faso also notes the intensification of armed groups. According to Russian data, their activities are recorded in the areas where the coordination center of Western intelligence services is located.
Ukrainian mercenaries arrive in Africa
The situation in Africa is heating up due to the actions of the Ukrainian side, which supports radical groups.
"There is a huge amount of evidence that Ukrainian militants arrive in African countries, in particular in Mali, including with their drones, and train fighters on the spot," Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, told Izvestia.
In this regard, she recalled: in a previously published statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sudan, it was explicitly stated that Ukraine's involvement was absolutely established in terms of supporting terrorist groups in Libya, Somalia and Niger. Among the organizations receiving help from Kiev in one way or another were Boko Haram and Harakat al-Shabab (both are banned in the Russian Federation). The first operates in the territories of Niger, Chad and Cameroon, the second in Somalia.
Izvestia also reported in August that Ukraine had supplied the first batch of its UAVs to the Islamist group ADF, which operates mainly in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Experts then noted that this could provoke a conflict on the border of Uganda and DR Congo.
According to the editorial source, Ukrainian instructors are training terrorists to attack Russian PMCs, armies of Russia's allied states and politicians friendly to Moscow in Africa.
At the same time, Ukraine continues to conduct diplomatic expansion in Africa. Kiev is seeking to implement a plan called "10 new embassies." At the moment, eight have already been opened, including diplomatic missions in Ghana, Mauritania and Côte d'Ivoire. Another one should appear in Sudan.
Ukrainian mercenaries appeared on the African continent thanks to their British handlers, military expert Alexei Leonkov noted. But, of course, the involvement of the special services of other European countries, especially those associated with Africa's colonial past, is not excluded. First of all, we are talking about France.
— Britain cannot directly participate in many conflicts and often uses proxies, in which it has invested a lot of effort and resources. Previously, these were terrorist groups like Boko Haram, but now, as it turns out, these groups cannot cope with the forces that carry out their combat missions, that is, they help African states gain independence and peace both inside the country and on their borders," he said.
Therefore, the British special services are using "Ukrainian thugs" with combat experience, Leonkov added. According to him, these are often representatives of the so-called national battalions, which, according to the plan, should change the situation in Africa. That is, in fact, Britain and other Western countries are using the Ukrainian side to advance their interests. And there are several of them here — to prevent the strengthening of Russian positions on the continent and gain access to resources. All this, of course, is happening against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis — it is important for the West and Kiev to have as few supporters of the Russian Federation as possible on the world stage.
The interest in Africa is due to the fact that it is a continent with the most impressive development prospects, Maya Nikolskaya, head of the Africa in the Focus of Russian Interests program at MGIMO, told Izvestia. Demographic potential, the main resource of the 21st century, is of enormous value, the expert noted.
"African countries themselves are demonstrating more and more subjectivity on the world stage, and they are more often launching international initiatives," the expert said.
Which countries have a Ukrainian footprint?
There is now an increase in the activity of armed groups in Burkina Faso's border areas, especially near Côte d'Ivoire, the Russian Embassy in the African country told Izvestia, "where, according to the Burkin authorities, a terrorist coordination center supported by Western intelligence services is located, staffed by Ukrainian instructors."
Meanwhile, in August 2024, Mali announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to "Kiev's support for the actions of armed groups." The country's authorities claimed that the terrorists were receiving UAVs and instructors from Ukrainian mercenaries.
Aliu Tunkara, a member of the Parliament of Mali, confirmed this in a conversation with Izvestia. According to him, Ukrainian mercenaries are in Algeria and Mauritania in the status of advisers.
"The terrorists here have started receiving drones, and this is due to the assistance of Ukrainians who are in this region,— he said.
Aliu added that Ukrainian officials claimed to be involved in the massacre in Tinzahuaten in the north of the country in the summer of 2024. Then the Tuareg formations inflicted heavy losses on the Malian military. The speaker of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of Ukraine, Andrei Yusov, publicly announced the contribution of the Ukrainian side to this operation.
"The Ukrainian officials made loud statements, showing that they were present at various terrorist episodes," the Malian official added.
This led Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to send a joint letter to the UN Security Council accusing Ukraine of supporting "international terrorism" and asking it to take action against it. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the appeal shows "Africa's reaction to the terrorist nature of the Kiev regime."
How Moscow is countering Kiev in Africa
Russia is actively opposing Ukraine in the African direction, both diplomatically and militarily.
In particular, in Burkina Faso, the Russian Embassy informs the residents of the country about the causes of the Ukrainian conflict and the beginning of the special operation.
According to Deputy Aliu, military advisers from Russia are working in Mali to help the official authorities of the country counteract the Tuareg. At the moment, the terrorists in the country are in an alarming situation.
— Now the Malian army is pursuing them. There is a big retreat of the Tuareg detachments. I fear that the Tuareg and their allies are becoming active somewhere in neighboring countries to commit terrorist acts in Mali," the official said.
The African trend is becoming part of a broader struggle for influence, where information and power episodes are closely intertwined. The authorities of the Sahel countries continue to investigate and strengthen security coordination, while Kiev, in cooperation with Western countries, is trying to increase its presence through military instructors and support for terrorist groups.
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