External hires: Ukraine accelerates proxy wars against Russia
Hundreds of Ukrainian instructors and mercenaries, including UAV operators, are fighting against the authorities in Sudan, supported by Moscow. They may be directly in the ranks of the rebel Rapid Reaction Forces, Russian Ambassador Andrey Chernovol told Izvestia. According to OHCHR, from January to April of this year, drone strikes caused 80% of conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan. At the same time, Ukrainian mercenaries have been spotted in Mali, DR Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, as well as in Syria. How Kiev is trying to interfere with Russian interests outside its zone is described in the Izvestia article.
Ukrainian UAV operators operate in Sudan
The civil war in Sudan has been going on for three years now, since clashes began between the country's army and the rebel Rapid Reaction Forces (RFS). A few months later, there were reports of a Kiev trace in the conflict. And now Ukrainians are already directly involved in the fighting. Hundreds of instructors, including UAV operators, may be operating in the ranks of the rebel Rapid Reaction Forces in Sudan, Russian Ambassador to the country Andrei Chernovol told Izvestia.
— Local media regularly write about the presence of Ukrainian mercenaries in the ranks of the rebel Rapid Reaction Forces. The same information is confirmed here at the official level. They are talking about the involvement of hundreds of instructors, including drone pilots," the diplomat told Izvestia.
At the same time, the role of drones in the Sudanese war is expected to increase dramatically. According to OHCHR, from January to April 2026, UAV strikes caused about 80% of all conflict-related deaths among civilians. Thus, drones turned out to be one of the key factors in the escalation.
Before the war, the SBR was part of the Sudanese military system, but then they entered into open confrontation with Khartoum. The worst episodes of violence occurred in Darfur: in the fall of 2025, after the offensive on El Fasher, the last major army stronghold in the region, the SBR was accused of massacres of the local population and other serious violations.
Experts attribute Kiev's interest in Sudan, among other things, to the Russian presence in the country. Even under ousted President Omar al-Bashir, representatives of Russian private security companies worked in Sudan to train the Sudanese army and security forces. In addition, since the end of the 2010s, Moscow has been discussing with Khartoum the project of a logistics center for the Russian Navy in the Red Sea.
The agreement was signed on December 1, 2020. It assumed the deployment of up to 300 personnel and up to four Russian ships at the same time, including those with a nuclear power plant. After the conflict began, the project was suspended several times, but its ratification was never completed. The establishment of a logistics center on the Red Sea is important at least from the point of view of logistics and geography.
— Sudan is a country friendly to Russia, which borders Egypt and Ethiopia, as well as important regional partners of Moscow. Historically, a dialogue has been built between the countries," Vsevolod Sviridov, Deputy Director of the HSE Center for African Studies, told Izvestia.
After the outbreak of the civil conflict, Moscow was cautious about its contacts with Sudan. But in April 2024, at that time, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov visited the country and met with the command of its army. The media then called this visit a signal of support for the regular forces in their confrontation with the SBR, which were already being assisted by Ukrainian mercenaries at that time.
According to Sviridov, Ukraine is now actually promoting itself to the West as a global "anti-Russia." Where there are interests of the Russian Federation, Kiev is trying to set itself against Moscow and thereby receive political and financial support.
— At the same time, Ukraine has neither serious work experience in Africa, nor a human resource base, nor a clear economic or political proposal to African states. Therefore, its actions have a limited impact on the regional situation," he said.
The appearance of Ukrainian instructors in Sudan fits into Kiev's broader line in Africa, Andrei Chernovol emphasized.
— This practice is in line with the Kiev regime's strategy of supporting militants and terrorists in Africa. The goal is to make money and at the same time help Western neo—colonialists undermine the stability and security of states defending their sovereignty," the Russian ambassador stressed.
Ukrainian mercenaries in Africa
The most notable area in this regard has recently become Mali, where the Russian African Corps is widely represented. The specialists train the local army, as well as participate in ensuring security and combating armed groups.
At the end of April 2026, the militants of JNIM, an al-Qaeda-linked group (both organizations are recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation), and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front conducted a series of coordinated attacks on government forces. According to media reports, Ukrainian and European mercenaries, including UAV operators, could have participated in the attacks. It was also reported that the rebels in Mali are using drone warfare tactics similar to those in Ukraine.
This is not the first time that Kiev's footprint in Mali has been discussed. In the summer of 2024, after the fighting at Tinzahuaten, Ukrainian intelligence stated that the rebels had received information that helped them carry out an operation against the Malian military and Russian forces. After that, Mali and Niger severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing Kiev of supporting terrorist groups.
Later, European media also wrote about the transfer of Ukrainian experience in the use of drones to the rebels in northern Mali. The publications noted that drones could be used to attack the bases of the Malian army and forces cooperating with Bamako.
However, Mali is just one of the items on this list. In August 2025, Alexander Ivanov, director of the Commonwealth of Officers for International Security (SOMB is a Russian organization that operates training programs for military personnel, police and gendarmerie in the Central African Republic), told the media that Ukrainian UAV instructors had been spotted in DR Congo, Central African Republic and Chad. According to him, they could work with local armed groups, supply them with drones and train operators.
The Kiev trail was also recorded outside Africa, primarily in Syria. In December 2024, the American media reported that Ukrainian intelligence had sent about 20 experienced UAV operators and about 150 FPV drones to help the militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (an organization recognized as a terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation) before the offensive that led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
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