Russia-Ukraine conflict finds new battleground in Africa’s Sahel

Ukraine has vowed to counter Russia wherever it can, even “in the scorching sands” of the Sahelian desert, as evidence mounts that Kyiv is backing Tuareg separatists battling Mali’s army and its Russian allies.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — all led by military juntas that have turned their backs on former colonial ruler France and moved closer to Russia — have reacted by severing diplomatic relations with Kyiv.

They accuse Ukraine of supplying weapons to the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) — a predominantly Tuareg armed separatist group loosely allied to Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

“In Africa and the Sahel, (Ukraine) is providing clear and open support to terrorist groups and other mafia-like groups to undermine our country’s territorial integrity,” Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop alleged at the United Nations in September.

Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine singled out France and Ukraine, alleging they were directing “proxies” along his country’s northeastern borders to attack military positions and oil facilities.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on the allegations.

The accusations followed posts on X by Kyrylo Budanov — a former Ukrainian intelligence chief who became President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff in January — in which he hinted at the presence of Ukrainian agents in Africa’s Sahel region.

“From Russia to Africa… the Main Intelligence Directorate protects Ukrainian interests across the globe by all means… in the scorching sands of deserts and the freezing snows of Antarctica,” Budanov wrote on September 7.

The post was accompanied by a photo showing four white men, their faces blurred, alongside armed, turbaned men in pickup trucks in a desert.

Five days later, a CNN report said Ukrainian military intelligence officers had confirmed that drone operators in the Sahel had provided training and support to the FLA.

– Training –

Armed groups are increasingly using low-cost, remotely piloted technologies for reconnaissance and strikes — tactics possibly inspired by the war in Ukraine.

Details of what the Ukrainians are doing in sub-Saharan Africa are disputed.

A source within the FLA told AFP the Malian separatists “maintain contact with the Ukrainians”.

But the source stressed: “All the fighting over the past few months has been carried out by the FLA and JNIM.”

He denied Kyiv had provided logistical, material or intelligence support and dismissed Budanov’s photos as “just Ukrainian propaganda”.

Kyiv had provided some instruction, though, he said.

In 2023, “three or four Ukrainians” travelled to northern Mali to train some FLA fighters and several combatants underwent “an intensive 30-day course in Ukraine on the use of FPV (first-person view) drones”, he said.

The training course in northern Mali “took place near the Mauritanian border”, a second source within the FLA said, adding the photos posted by Budanov were “either from that time or were taken in Syria”.

– Mauritania –

A diplomat based in the region, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Ukrainians had “a definite presence in northern Mali, where they move about and collaborate with Tuareg rebels”.

They said the border with Mauritania was the main crossing point for exchanges between the Ukrainians and the FLA and the drones used by the separatists came from Ukraine.

“It is no coincidence that Kyiv opened an embassy in Nouakchott in 2024, given that Mauritania serves as a rear base for FLA leaders,” the diplomat said.

The diplomat said the FLA systematically denied or underplayed reports of Ukrainian assistance to avoid creating problems for Mauritanian authorities.

In November, a study by US think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace indicated that Kyiv had been supplying drones to the separatists since early 2024.

In July of that year, Ukrainian military intelligence official Andriy Yusov hinted that Kyiv had provided information to FLA and JNIM fighters, who carried out an attack in northern Mali which killed dozens of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers.

In recent years, Ukraine has opened several embassies across Africa as it seeks to boost its influence in a continent where Russia has a significant presence.

In March Ukraine laid out its first strategy for extending its reach in Africa and in August Zelensky asked his ambassadors to pay close attention to certain African regions, including the Sahel.

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