(MENAFN) Russian authorities have claimed that new evidence points to Ukrainian support for militant groups operating in Africa’s Sahara-Sahel region, including the provision of drones, according to statements by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.


Zakharova stated that Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) allegedly coordinated with Ukrainian operatives through British intermediaries. This cooperation, she claimed, involved supplying strike UAVs from Kiev and training provided by instructors from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate.

“There is evidence confirming cooperation between the GNU and Ukrainians in organizing and supporting terrorist operations in Sahel countries, including Niger,” Zakharova said, citing Russian Foreign Ministry sources.

She referenced claims attributed to Colonel Fath al-Sayid of Sudan’s military intelligence, who purportedly reported that Ukrainian and Colombian mercenaries fighting with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had suffered losses in western Sudan while employing Ukrainian-made drones.

According to the spokeswoman, these operations were linked to the illicit resale of Western-supplied weapons by Ukraine, which she alleged have been discovered among armed groups across multiple African and Middle Eastern countries. “Such weapons have been reportedly found among terrorist groups in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, the Central African Republic, and Chad,” she added.

Earlier reports from Sudan indicated that a significant number of foreign fighters, including Ukrainians and Colombians, were killed while supporting the RSF during clashes in El Fasher, North Darfur. Some of these fighters reportedly possessed expertise in drones and electronic warfare.

Russian claims echo previous statements from Sudanese officials in June, alleging that Kiev was supplying paramilitary groups and performing the West’s “dirty work” by backing armed factions responsible for terrorist attacks in Libya, Somalia, and Niger.

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