Russians Send Weapons and Soldiers to Madagascar to Help Military Junta

Russia has supported the military junta in Madagascar with weapons and sent its own military personnel to the country.

This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to the Speaker of the National Assembly Siteny Randrianasulunyayka, who headed the opposition before the October events.

According to him, on December 20, a Russian military plane arrived at the international airport near the capital, Antananarivo, delivering 40 soldiers and 43 boxes of weapons.

The delivery included various types of assault and sniper rifles, as well as anti-tank missile systems.

The weapons were handed over to the Presidential Guard “in the framework of legitimate interstate cooperation,” Randrianasuluniayku emphasized.

He also noted that the Russian delegation met with the country’s military leader, Michael Randrianirina, during which the parties discussed economic cooperation.

“The purpose of the visit is to strengthen the potential of the Madagascar armed forces. The [Russian] delegation clearly expressed its readiness to support Madagascar, in particular, in training and strengthening the capacity of our armed forces,” Randrianasulunyayka said.

Mr. Randrianirina, who led the coup in October, had previously reported a secret trip to Dubai from December 9 to 11. Without disclosing its purpose, he explained that the visit was not made public for reasons of personal security.

A military coup in Madagascar took place on October 14 after anti-government protests and the flight of then-President Andry Rajoelina to France.

A few days after the coup, Randrianirina, the commander of the elite CAPSAT army unit, took office as president.

In general, Russia continues to build up its military presence in Africa.

In particular, on the night of December 14, 2025, a Russian military transport aircraft Il-76 with registration number RF-78803 was spotted at Ouagadougou Airport in Burkina Faso.

According to available information, there were about 50 Russian servicemen on board.

Presumably, these are representatives of the so-called “Africa Corps” of Russia.