Sahel Becomes New Battleground in Russia-Ukraine Rivalry

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is increasingly extending into Africa’s Sahel region amid allegations that Kyiv is supporting Tuareg separatists fighting Mali’s military and its Russian allies. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all governed by military juntas that have distanced themselves from France and strengthened ties with Russia, have severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine over alleged weapons supplies to the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a predominantly Tuareg separatist group loosely allied with the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). Speaking at the United Nations in September, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop accused Ukraine of supporting armed groups to undermine Mali’s territorial integrity. Niger’s Prime Minister, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, also alleged that France and Ukraine were directing proxies to attack military positions and oil facilities near Niger’s northeastern borders. Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. The allegations followed a September 7 post on X by Kyrylo Budanov, a former Ukrainian intelligence chief who became President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff in January. Budanov said Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate protected national interests worldwide, including “in the scorching sands of deserts and the freezing snows of Antarctica.” The post showed four white men with blurred faces alongside armed, turbaned men in a desert. Five days later, CNN reported that Ukrainian military intelligence officers had confirmed drone operators in the Sahel provided training and support to the FLA, as armed groups increasingly use inexpensive remotely piloted technologies for reconnaissance and attacks.

However, the extent of Ukraine’s alleged involvement remains disputed. An FLA source told AFP that the separatists maintained contact with Ukrainians but insisted recent fighting had been conducted by the FLA and JNIM. The source denied Kyiv provided logistical, material or intelligence support, dismissed Budanov’s photographs as propaganda, but acknowledged training had occurred. According to the source, three or four Ukrainians travelled to northern Mali in 2023 to train FLA fighters, while several combatants attended an intensive 30-day course in Ukraine on operating first-person-view drones. A second FLA source said the training in northern Mali took place near the Mauritanian border and suggested Budanov’s photographs were from that period or Syria. A regional diplomat, speaking anonymously, said Ukrainians had a definite presence in northern Mali, collaborated with Tuareg rebels and used the Mauritanian border for exchanges. The diplomat alleged that separatist drones came from Ukraine and linked Kyiv’s 2024 embassy opening in Nouakchott to Mauritania’s reported role as a rear base for FLA leaders. The diplomat added that the FLA downplayed alleged assistance to avoid creating problems for Mauritanian authorities. A November study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace indicated that Kyiv had supplied drones to the separatists since early 2024. In July 2024, Ukrainian intelligence official Andriy Yusov hinted that Kyiv had provided information to FLA and JNIM fighters involved in an attack that killed dozens of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers. Ukraine has since expanded its diplomatic presence across Africa, unveiled its first Africa strategy in March and, in August, Zelensky urged ambassadors to focus on regions including the Sahel, where Russia maintains significant influence.

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