Ukraine is expanding its military activity beyond the war’s main battlefield, with Ukrainian drone specialists helping forces fighting Russian troops in Mali and operating in other parts of Africa, according to CNN.
The deployments mark a growing effort by Kyiv to challenge Russia in regions where Moscow has expanded its own military presence. Ukrainian forces are using expertise developed during the full-scale invasion, particularly in drone warfare, to support partners operating against Russian troops.
Around 15 Ukrainian drone specialists are reportedly deployed in northern Mali, where they are supporting the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front in its fight against Russian forces and Mali’s military government. Several Ukrainian specialists are also reportedly operating in Sudan and Libya, according to a Ukrainian intelligence source cited by CNN.
Ukrainian drone specialists in Mali
The Ukrainian personnel in northern Mali are not directly fighting on the front line, CNN reported. Instead, they are helping train local forces and supporting their drone operations against Russian and Malian government forces.
The cooperation centers on the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, which has been fighting Mali's military government and Russian forces operating alongside it.
Ukraine's involvement with the Tuareg rebels dates back to at least 2024. After a July 2024 ambush near Tinzaouaten killed dozens of Wagner and Malian troops, Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said the rebels had received “necessary information.” Kyiv later denied that it had provided substantial assistance.
The relationship has since developed further. CNN reported that Ukrainian specialists assisted the rebels during fighting earlier this year, when Tuareg and al-Qaeda-linked militants attacked Russian forces and forced them to withdraw from the area around Kidal.
The cooperation does not reflect a broader political or ideological alignment between Kyiv and the Tuareg. Ukrainian personnel told CNN that the two sides are working together because they face a common enemy: Russian forces.
“Culture and religion are different, but when you are being attacked by the same idiots, ideological differences fade into the background,” a Ukrainian Defense Intelligence source told CNN.
The source said that operations against Russian forces abroad can also serve Kyiv’s war effort at home by putting additional pressure on Moscow.
“It puts pressure on them. This whole story has both psychological and real results,” he said.
The Ukrainian presence in Mali also appears to have a training role extending beyond the Tuareg. A Ukrainian Defense Intelligence source familiar with the operations told CNN that troops from Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso had previously traveled to Mali to receive drone training from Ukrainian soldiers.
Challenging Russia's African foothold
Russia has significantly expanded its military presence in Africa since the withdrawal of French and other Western forces from the Sahel.
The Africa Corps, which grew out of Wagner after the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, has become an important instrument of Moscow's influence in the region. Russian forces provide military support to authoritarian governments including Mali's while helping protect regimes that have pushed out Western forces.
For Ukraine, supporting forces fighting Russia in Africa provides another way to put pressure on Moscow outside Ukraine.
A Ukrainian intelligence source told CNN that overseas deployments also allow Kyiv to use the military expertise it has accumulated during the war as a tool of foreign policy and build security relationships with other countries.
Russia’s Africa Corps fighters killed in Mali ambush amid accusations of civilian killings
Ukraine's military footprint extends further
Mali and Sudan are part of a wider Ukrainian effort to deploy military expertise abroad.
Ukraine has also developed a military presence in Libya. An RFI investigation published in March reported that more than 200 Ukrainian officers and technical specialists were based at three locations in western Libya with the approval of the Tripoli-based government.
CNN has now confirmed, citing Ukrainian sources, that Ukrainian naval-drone specialists have used a military base in Misrata to launch attacks against Russian shadow-fleet vessels while training Libyan forces.
Ukrainian troops in Libya: a launchpad for Mediterranean strikes on Russian shadow fleet – RFI
Ukrainian teams have also traveled to several Middle Eastern countries to train local forces in countering Shahed-type drone attacks from Iran, which intensified its drone campaign after the start of the US-Iran war earlier this year. Such deployments build on Ukraine's extensive experience defending against Russia's large-scale drone campaigns.
The activities point to a broader shift in how Ukraine is using its wartime capabilities. Drone warfare developed to defend Ukrainian territory is increasingly being used to build partnerships, support forces fighting Russia and pursue Russian military and economic interests far beyond the front line.
For Moscow, that creates a new challenge as it tries to expand its own military footprint abroad.
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