Russia has agreed to provide weapons and training for the joint forces of the military junta of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso

According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin will engage military instructors already working in these countries.

“Russia is ready to contribute to the joint forces of the Alliance of Sahelian States,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed, emphasizing the need to equip the trilateral armed forces.

He added that Russian experts could help develop and equip these forces with specific weapons and equipment.

Moscow is using the instability in the region caused by coups and Islamist uprisings to increase its influence. It relies on popular discontent with Western intervention and French policy.

The French armed forces operated in Mali between 2013 and 2022 as part of Operations Serval and Barkhane, countering illegal armed groups, including ISIS, which tried to seize power.

In 2023, the three Sahelian countries signed a mutual defense pact.

Paramilitary groups linked to the Kremlin appeared in Mali in 2021 and later in Burkina Faso and Niger.

Some of these personnel were later replaced by troops from the African Corps, as Moscow consolidated control over the Wagner Group’s business network in Africa following the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Standoff in Africa

On February 6, it was reported that unknown forces in Mali ambushed a VPK-Ural armored vehicle of Russian mercenaries.

The attack was reportedly performed using a remote-activated explosive device. It is not clear who organized the ambush – it could have been either Azawadi rebels or al-Qaeda militants.

The crew of the armored vehicle survived, but the VPK-Ural suffered damage to the chassis, armor plate, and hull.

At present, the local indigenous population, with the support of Western countries, is resisting Russian mercenaries and the pro-Russian government of Mali.