Even as it bombs Ukraine, Russia is expanding its military presence in Africa, delivering high-tech weapons to conflict zones south of the Sahara, where Kremlin-controlled armed forces are on the rise.
Bypassing Western sanctions, Moscow is using cargo ships to send tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and other high-end equipment to West Africa, the Associated Press has found.
Using satellite imagery and radio signals, the AP tracked a convoy of Russian-flagged cargo ships on their nearly month-long journey from the Baltic Sea. According to military officials in Europe who have been closely monitoring them, the ships were carrying howitzers, equipment for jamming and other military equipment.
The supplies could bolster Russia's newly established corps in Africa as Moscow competes with the United States, Europe and China for greater influence on the continent.
The Russian Africa Corps, created two years ago and linked to a secret branch of the Russian military, is rising as American and European troops are withdrawing from the region as sub-Saharan African countries turn to Russia for security assistance.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been battling Al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked militants for more than a decade.
The fight in Africa has initially involved mercenary groups with close ties to the Kremlin. But Russia has increasingly used its military might and intelligence services to more directly.
“We intend to expand our cooperation with African countries in all areas, with an emphasis on economic cooperation and investment,“ said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.““This cooperation also includes sensitive areas related to defense and security,“ he added.“““““““
The Russian 8,800-ton Baltic Leader and the 5,800-ton Patria are among hundreds of ships that Western countries have imposed sanctions on to block resources for Russia's war in Ukraine. The ships docked and unloaded their cargo in Conakry, Guinea, in late May, AP satellite images show.
Other ships made deliveries to the same port in January. They brought tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, which were then transported overland to neighboring Mali, according to European military officials and a Malian blogger who uploaded video of the long convoy.
The military officials spoke to the AP about the Russian operations on condition of anonymity. The AP also confirmed the blogger's video, locating it on the RN5 highway leading to the Malian capital, Bamako.
After the most recent delivery in Conakry, trucks carrying Russian-made armored vehicles, howitzers and other equipment have again been spotted on the overland route to Mali.
Malian national television “Or Télévisions“ (ORTM) confirmed that the West African country's army had received new military equipment. An AP analysis of the video and images of the delivery, taken by a Malian blogger at the same location where the January delivery took place, found a wide range of Russian-made equipment, including 152mm artillery guns and other smaller weapons.
The Associated Press also identified a BTR-80 armored personnel carrier equipped with radio jamming equipment, as well as Spartak armored vehicles and other armored personnel carriers, some of which were equipped with guns. The shipment also included at least two semi-inflatable small boats, one of which had a Russian flag painted on its hull, and tanker trucks, some of which had the words "flammable" written in Russian on the side.
Military officials who spoke to the AP said they believed Russia had earmarked the most powerful equipment - mostly artillery and jamming equipment - for its African Corps, not for the Malian armed forces. The African Corps also appears to have received air support, with satellites in recent months spotting at least one Su-24 fighter-bomber at the Bamako air base.
For years, French forces have supported counter-insurgency operations in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. But France withdrew its troops after coups in Mali in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in 2023. Russian mercenaries have emerged in the vacuum.
The most significant group, the “Wagner“, was sent to Sudan in 2017. It has expanded its activities to other African countries, often in exchange for mineral concessions.
“Wagner“ has earned a reputation for brutality and has been accused by Western countries and UN experts of human rights abuses, including in the Central African Republic, Libya and Mali.
According to RAND research funded by the US government, in 33 African countries where Russian military contractors were active, most of these contractors were controlled by “Wagner“.
But after “Wagner“ mercenaries rebelled in Russia in 2023, and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died two months later in a plane crash under suspicious circumstances, Moscow tightened its grip. Russian military operations in Africa have been restructured, with the Kremlin taking greater control through the Africa Corps.
According to the European Union, the Africa Corps is controlled by the commander of Unit 29155 - one of the most notorious branches of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Unit 29155 has been accused of secretly attacking Western interests for years, including through sabotage and assassination attempts.
In December, the EU imposed sanctions on Major General Andrei Averyanov of Unit 29155, alleging that he was leading the operations of the African Union.
“In many African countries, Russian forces provide security for military juntas that have overthrown legitimate democratic governments, seriously undermining stability, security and democracy in the countries,“ the EU decision to impose the sanctions said, which also noted that these operations are financed by the exploitation of the continent's natural resources.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about Averyanov's role in the African Union.
Researchers and military officials say the flow of arms from Russia appears to be accelerating the African Union's rise to power. Wagner's account, which helps the corps win over mercenaries who have remained loyal to the private military company. The African Corps is also recruiting in Russia, offering salaries of up to 2.1 million rubles (23,400 euros) and even plots of land in exchange for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense, as well as bonuses for sending to Africa.
Just a few days after the last delivery of equipment, Wagner announced its withdrawal from Mali, declaring "mission accomplished" on Telegram.
The African Corps said in a separate post that it would stay.
The transfer of the baton in Mali from Wagner to the African Corps could be a harbinger of similar shifts elsewhere on the continent, said Julia Stanyard, a researcher on Russian mercenaries in Africa.
“The introduction of these kinds of brand-new high-tech weapons, new armored vehicles and things like that is quite a big change,“ said Stanyard of the Switzerland-based Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
Armed groups in Mali have inflicted heavy losses on Malian troops and Russian mercenaries. The “Al Qaeda“affiliated“Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin” (JNIM) group was responsible for killing dozens of soldiers in an attack on a military base this month. In July last year, the rebels also killed dozens of “Wagner” in northern Mali.
Some of the latest weaponry is likely to have been delivered specifically in response to such attacks, military officials said. They said jamming equipment, for example, could help protect against booby traps triggered by phone signals.
The latest convoy has been in the spotlight because a Russian navy warship, the Boykiy, escorted the ships after they set off from Russia's Kaliningrad region in the Baltic Sea in April.
Military officials said in October last year that the Boykiy's radar systems intercepted a French naval surveillance plane patrolling suspected Russian attempts to sabotage undersea cables, which was deemed a hostile act.
The most recent convoy also included the sanctioned Russian cargo ship “Shianye Severna“. It continued on and docked in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, after the “Baltic Leader“ and “Patria“ were unloaded in Conakry.
Satellite images from May 29 show trucks parked side by side at the quay, waiting for the ship to be unloaded. The AP could not confirm whether the cargo included weapons or what the final destination of the shipment was, although “Wagner“ maintains a strong presence in the nearby Central African Republic.
translation from English: Petya Dimitrova, BTA