Ukraine Expands Counter-Russia Operations to Africa and the Middle East

File photo: An Iranian Shahed exploding drone.

Ukraine has expanded its fight against Russia beyond the battlefield at home, deploying drone specialists to Africa and military teams to the Middle East to train forces fighting Russian- and Iranian-made drones, according to a CNN report. CNN, citing Ukrainian soldiers, officers and a Ukrainian Defense Intelligence source, reported that around 15 Ukrainian specialists were deployed in northern Mali, where they were helping Tuareg-led rebel forces fighting Russian troops and providing drone training, operational support and tactical assistance. The deployments were part of Kyiv’s effort to target Russian interests wherever Moscow has established a military presence, the report said. Ukrainian officials have previously acknowledged providing information to the Tuareg rebels, although Kyiv later denied substantial cooperation with them. One Ukrainian drone operator in Mali told CNN that he coordinated missions remotely, receiving drone signals over the internet and directing rebel fighters by radio. The Ukrainian team was not directly involved in frontline combat, according to the report.

Beyond the battlefield

The deployment comes as Russia has deepened its military presence across Africa, particularly in the Sahel. Moscow initially relied on the Wagner Group but later incorporated its remaining forces into the Africa Corps following the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023. The Ukrainian team in Mali is working with the Azawad Liberation Front, a separatist movement largely made up of northern Tuareg rebels. Ukrainian specialists also helped train the rebels and assisted them during their takeover of the strategic northern city of Kidal earlier this year. The Russian defence ministry accused Kyiv of playing a role in the Kidal assault, alleging that Ukrainian and European instructors had trained the rebels. Ukraine has denied substantial involvement. Ukraine’s overseas military cooperation extends beyond Africa. Ukrainian military experts were sent to at least five Middle Eastern countries after Iran began attacking US allies earlier this year. The teams trained local forces to counter Iranian-made Shahed drones, which Russia has extensively used against Ukraine. In return for the training, Kyiv secured security cooperation agreements and promises of ammunition, the report said. Ukraine has also deployed naval drone operators to northwestern Libya, where Ukrainian Defense Intelligence personnel have been stationed since late 2025, according to a Ukrainian intelligence source cited by CNN. One operator told the outlet that his unit used a military base in Misrata to target Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers while training local forces. The existence of Ukrainian personnel in Libya was first reported by French public broadcaster RFI and has not been officially confirmed by Kyiv. The overseas missions are also giving Ukrainian forces an opportunity to adapt their drone expertise to very different battlefields. A Ukrainian operator told CNN that Mali’s extreme heat, dust and vast terrain created different challenges from the high-intensity warfare in Ukraine. “In Ukraine, it’s high intensity, massive strikes, constant pressure,” the operator said. “Here it’s more of a maneuverable war over large territories, ambushes, route control, working in small groups and depending on knowledge of the terrain.”

Drone diplomacy and its risks

Héni Nsaibia, West Africa senior analyst at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, told CNN that Russia had become crucial to the Malian regime, with Africa Corps forces helping prevent a deeper collapse of the government. The first allegations of Ukrainian assistance to the Tuaregs emerged in 2024 after rebels ambushed Wagner and Malian forces near Tinzaouaten. Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said at the time that the rebels had received “necessary information” to fight Russian forces. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso subsequently accused Ukraine of sponsoring terrorism in a complaint to the UN Security Council. Russia has also accused Ukraine of involvement in massacres of civilians in Mali, allegations Kyiv has denied. Human Rights Watch has separately accused Russian forces in Mali of killing civilians and said all parties involved in an April escalation unlawfully attacked civilians. The overseas operations reflect Kyiv’s growing attempt to use its battlefield experience as a foreign-policy tool. A Ukrainian Defense Intelligence source told CNN that the aim was to pressure Russia and undermine Moscow’s position as a reliable security partner. Ukraine’s expanding footprint has not been without risks. Earlier this year, a Ukrainian naval drone carrying explosives escaped from operators in Libya and was later found floating near Greece’s Lefkada island. Greece lodged a diplomatic protest, while Kyiv apologised and blamed Russia’s use of a “shadow” fleet for creating the circumstances that led to the incident. Ukraine has long participated in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, but its current deployments represent a more direct effort to challenge Russian military influence on the continent. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s former intelligence chief and now head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said in 2023 that Ukraine would seek to target Russian interests “anywhere on the face of this world” until it achieved victory.