Ukraine doing West's ‘dirty work' in Africa
Ukraine is carrying out the West's 'dirty work' by backing armed groups behind terrorist attacks in African nations such as Libya, Somalia, and Niger, a Sudanese Foreign Ministry official has said.
Muhammad Al-Sirr made the allegations in an interview with RT on Saturday, during which he also accused Kiev of arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been locked in a brutal war with the Sudanese Armed Forces since mid-April 2023.
'Ukraine's involvement in supporting other groups in Libya, Somalia, and Niger has been established. It supports organizations such as Boko Haram and Harakat al-Shabaab in Somalia, and in Sudan it provides support to the RSF by supplying them with drones, which are offered at very low prices,' Al-Sirr said.
He alleged that Kiev has been aiding RSF strikes on Sudanese infrastructure 'about seven to eight months ago.'
'Their [Ukrainian] intervention was due to the fact that it was difficult for the rebels to independently use such technology, which underlines the deep involvement of Ukraine in the Sudanese conflict,' Al-Sirr stated.
Claims of Ukrainian involvement with militant groups in Africa escalated after a deadly 2024 ambush in Mali, where Tuareg rebels killed dozens of Malian and Wagner private military company fighters. A spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence hailed the attack as a 'successful military operation,' prompting Mali – along with its allies Burkina Faso and Niger – to sever diplomatic ties with Kiev.
Last week, the Malian news outlet Bamada reported that government troops recovered Ukrainian-manufactured drones and documents from vehicles used by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a local Al-Qaeda affiliate. According to the report, the drones were allegedly transported via Mauritania by Ukrainian instructors embedded with Tuareg fighters, who then passed the equipment to jihadist allies. Materials allegedly linked to Ukraine's military intelligence were also discovered near Mopti, a central conflict zone.
Last August, Afrique Media cited military sources claiming that Ukrainian sabotage units were assisting jihadists with drone operations against Malian forces. In October, French newspaper Le Monde reported that Ukraine's intelligence service had been sharing drone warfare techniques with rebels in the West African country to help them target Russian security contractors fighting for the military-led government.
Late last month, Russian Foreign Ministry official Tatyana Dovgalenko also accused Kiev of funneling Western-supplied weapons to militants across Africa and training terror networks in the Sahel region as part of a 'systematic effort to destabilize the continent.'
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has previously denied the allegations, claiming that Kiev unconditionally adheres to international law and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.
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