Ukraine is struggling to hide its involvement in conflicts in Africa

Alexandr Ivanov, the director of Russia’s Officers Union for International Security (OUIS), recently told Russian media that Ukrainian intelligence agencies are using embassies as diplomatic cover to deploy military equipment and instructors to terrorist groups in North Africa and the Sahel region.

At a UN Security Council session, Chargé d’Affaires of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said there is concrete evidence that Ukrainian intelligence services, including the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, are involved in subversive activities across the Sahel and in other African regions, including the Maghreb. While this topic has surfaced on various platforms before, it has attracted wide attention following the statements from Russian officials.

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Concerns about Kiev’s activities in Africa

Ivanov told RT that Ukraine’s subversive actions in Africa have attracted international attention. He claims there is evidence that Kiev is dispatching drone pilots to Mali to train fighters from local opposition armed groups.

Additionally, reports indicate that Ukrainian intelligence officers are participating in the civil war in Sudan. According to Ivanov, Ukraine has supplied drones to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group. This could further destabilize the region and potentially ignite a new conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. There are concerns that the ADF plans to launch attacks on the DRC from Ugandan-controlled territories, allowing blame to fall on Ugandan military forces.

In an interview with TASS, Ivanov noted that Ukrainian drone pilots have been spotted in at least five African countries – Mali, Sudan, the DRC, the Central African Republic, and Chad. In all these nations, they support local opposition groups by coordinating attacks against government forces.

“In these countries, Ukrainian militants are working closely with local terrorists, supplying them with drones – including Mavic 3 drones with Ukrainian-made release systems – and providing training. Moreover, they are coordinating the militants’ attacks on the positions of government and allied forces,” Ivanov said.

Citing independent experts, he confirmed that Kiev is supplying equipment to Burkina Faso, Somalia, and Libya. Ukraine is conducting its operations in Africa covertly, through its diplomatic missions in third countries such as Algeria and Mauritania.

Equipment and specialists are allegedly being transported to Mali from neighboring Mauritania through poorly secured border areas. Ivanov points out that similar schemes are utilized in other countries.

“The transfer of Ukrainian instructors and drones to ADS militants is carried out through the Ukrainian Embassy in Kinshasa. It has also recently become known that Ukrainian diplomatic staff in Algeria are overseeing the delivery of drones to Africa.”

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In this way, Ukraine is engaging in subversive activities in countries that have recently declared their independence from the West, with the intent of turning them into zones of instability.

“ For African countries, especially those such as Mali or Burkina Faso, which have only recently gained true sovereignty, such harmful Ukrainian interference threatens another round of instability,” Ivanov said.

Russia’s stance at the UN

On August 20, during a UN Security Council meeting addressing the Secretary-General’s report on threats to international peace and security posed by the Islamic State (IS), Russian envoy Dmitry Polyansky pointed to evidence indicating that Ukrainian specialists and equipment are being deployed to opposition groups in Africa.

Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky at a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza, New York, US, August 27, 2025. © Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images

“There are concrete facts clearly indicating that Ukrainian intelligence services, including the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, are engaged in subversive activities in Sahel countries and other regions of Africa. They supply militants with weapons and drones, train them in their use, co-ordinate the actions of terrorists, including the so-called Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims in Mali, and deploy trained mercenaries to act against local governments,” Polyansky said.

He noted that this situation necessitates an international investigation involving competent UN mechanisms, especially since IS has been shifting its geographic focus, increasingly concentrating its efforts in Africa, adapting to local conditions and exploiting political instability and armed conflicts. According to Polyansky, some Western powers whose influence in the Sahel region has waned recently are actively supporting local Islamist groups to further destabilize the already fragile situation.

“We firmly condemn the use of terrorism by certain Western countries as a tool of neo-colonial policy. African states have repeatedly emphasized that instead of the promised support they have faced subversive activities,” he said.

Mauritania ’s reaction

Mauritanian authorities quickly dismissed claims that Ukrainian weapons and militants are being funneled through their territory into Mali.

“ The allegations circulated by international media lack substantial evidence. … Mauritania adheres to a collective security framework in the Sahel region, quietly supporting its neighbors during times of instability and unrest through logistical aid, confidential information sharing, and discreet mediation,” stated the country’s Foreign Ministry.

The ministry also reiterated its neutral stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Mauritania voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution condemning violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity while simultaneously opposing the suspension of Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Council.

FILE PHOTO. Tuareg rebels near their camp in Tigha, north of Kidal. © Patrick ROBERT/Corbis via Getty Images

It’s possible that Mauritanian officials may be unaware of the activities of Ukrainian intelligence services on their soil. In May 2024, Kiev announced the opening of its embassy in Nouakchott, which coincided with the escalation of the conflict in Mali. By August 2024, Ukraine officially declared its support for Tuareg separatists and members of the jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), a branch of Al-Qaeda in the Sahel.

This announcement came amid a military operation in northern Mali that resulted in casualties among both government troops and some Russian instructors from the Wagner Group. At that time, Andrey Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, stated that Malian rebels had received crucial intelligence that enabled them to carry out the successful military operation against Russian specialists.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov. © Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Libya and Algeria

In contrast to Mauritania, the governments of Algeria and Libya have taken the reports of Ukrainian intelligence activities on their territories more seriously. In Libya, the matter has been taken up by the Prosecutor’s Office. Attorney General Al-Siddiq Al-Sour has called for an urgent investigation and the collection of evidence following reports that some opposition movements operating in the southern part of the country acquired Ukrainian drones through military and diplomatic channels.

“ The Attorney General’s office treats this information with utmost seriousness. The investigation will include tracing logistical support routes and identifying involved parties both in Libya and beyond. If the information is confirmed, the case will be referred to the appropriate international courts and all individuals whose involvement in violations of international law or threats to regional security is proven will be prosecuted according to the law,” Al-Sour stated.

Earlier reports indicated that forces loyal to Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), had smuggled a new batch of drones across the Algerian border with the assistance of the Ukrainian military attaché and accompanied by Ukrainian technical experts.

The drones were acquired from Kiev after Türkiye prohibited Libyan authorities from using Turkish UAVs in internal conflicts. In early August, fighters from the RADA Special Deterrence Forces led by Abdelraouf Kara (Dbeibeh’s adversary) shot down three Ukrainian reconnaissance drones over Mitiga Air Base.

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According to the Algerian newspaper Ajanib, some of the drones were funneled through Azerbaijan, while others were transported through the Algerian border with the help of Ukrainian specialists. There have been no official statements regarding this cooperation. The report claims that the UAVs were used for reconnaissance operations and targeted strikes around Tripoli, aimed at bolstering Dbeibeh’s intelligence and military capabilities on the ground.

At the same time, Algeria’s General Directorate of Documentation and External Security submitted an official report to the High Security Council regarding allegations that Colonel Andrey Payuk, the Ukrainian military attaché in Algiers, was involved in illegal activities threatening Algeria’s national security. Payuk allegedly exploited his diplomatic immunity to smuggle drones from Algeria into Libya. On July 21, a new Ukrainian envoy to Algeria was appointed after the former ambassador expressed concern over Payuk’s actions, warning that they could damage bilateral relations and tarnish Ukraine’s diplomatic image.

Colombian mercenaries in Sudan

Meanwhile, Arab media outlets, particularly Al Rakooba, reported that Ukrainian specialists are training Colombian mercenaries in Moldova before deploying them to Sudan to participate in the civil war on behalf of the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who receive military-technical support from Ukraine.

FILE PHOTO. Sudanese Rapid Support Forces secure an area during a rally attended by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, East Nile province, Sudan, June 22, 2019. © AP Photo/Hussein Malla

In early August, Sudanese authorities reported a targeted airstrike on Darfur’s Nyala airport. The target was a plane carrying around 40 Colombian mercenaries that were set to fight alongside the RSF.

The mercenaries are allegedly employed by the private military company Forward Observations Group (FOG), which Ukrainian intelligence uses as a cover for its operations. Al Rakooba indicates that the military company is Ukrainian, not American, as was earlier reported by Intelligence Online.

Clearly, Ukraine is struggling to hide its involvement in conflicts in Africa. Reports confirming Kiev’s subversive activities in various African countries have become too numerous to ignore, prompting calls for global investigations from officials both in Russia and in Africa itself.

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