Ukraine is ready to support African countries in their fight against Russian mercenaries, offering military training, sharing battlefield experience, and assisting refugees in regions where the Kremlin’s influence is growing. According to a Reuters report, since 2022, Kyiv has been actively expanding its diplomatic footprint across the continent, opening eight new embassies, including those in Mauritania, the Republic of the Congo, and Côte d’Ivoire. The total number of Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Africa has now reached 18. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Africa, Maksym Subkh, stated that Russia’s military presence in the Sahel undermines regional stability, emphasizing that Ukraine is ready to continue training Mauritanian officers and armed forces personnel, as well as sharing technology and battlefield-tested innovations. In addition to military cooperation, Ukraine is actively engaged in humanitarian support – in particular, assisting refugees from Mali fleeing fighting involving Russian forces, especially in the Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania. Over the past two years, the camp’s population has nearly tripled to approximately 250,000. Russian troops and mercenaries are reportedly protecting leaders in several West and Central African countries, while Russian mining companies have entrenched themselves deeply in the Sahel. According to Ambassador Subkh, such Kremlin-backed military activity is a destabilizing factor for the continent. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that Russia is currently the largest arms supplier to African countries. As part of Kyiv’s “Grain from Ukraine” initiative, around 300,000 tons of food aid have already been delivered to 12 countries, including the Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, and Nigeria. Ukraine’s ambassador to the Republic of the Congo added that Kyiv is also negotiating long-term cooperation with the country in the fields of agriculture and food security. At the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, many African nations remained neutral in United Nations votes – even as Ukraine’s grain exports were disrupted. In response to Russian disinformation, Ukraine has developed its own African strategy, aimed not only at countering Kremlin narratives, but also at deepening trade, investment, and diplomatic ties across the continent. In May 2023, HUR chief Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov promised to “destroy Russian war criminals anywhere in the world they may be.” Ukrainian HUR special forces continue hunting for pro-Kremlin Wagner mercenaries in Sudan and other parts of the African continent: Last July, Kyiv Post received a unique photo of Malian Tuareg rebels posing with the Ukrainian flag, showing their support for Ukraine. In November 2023, Kyiv Post got an exclusive video that allegedly showed Ukrainian special forces performing “cleaning up” operations of Wagner fighters in Sudan. In January 2024, Kyiv Post published an exclusive video said to show Ukrainian drones destroying “Russian mercenaries” and their “local terrorist partners” in Sudan. And in February 2024, Kyiv Post acquired exclusive footage said to show Ukrainian special forces interrogating captured Wagner Group mercenaries in the Republic of Sudan. In the video, the prisoners confess that their mission was to get to Sudan and overthrow the government there. In addition to Sudan, last June, Kyiv Post published exclusive footage of Ukrainian special forces attacking enemy checkpoints strongholds, foot patrols, and columns of military equipment in the Golan Heights in Syria. According to a Kyiv Post HUR source insurgents, with the support of Ukrainian fighters, have struck numerous times against Russian military facilities under the control of the so-called Russian Armed Forces Group in the Syrian Arab Republic, since the beginning of the year. At the end of July 2024, Kyiv Post received several exclusive videos and photos showing the continuation of the special operation by HUR units aimed at destroying Russian forces in Syria. According to Kyiv Post sources in the special services, the Khimik group carried out another complex strike on Russian occupation forces in Syria in late July 2024. This time, the target of the attack was Russian military equipment at the Kuweires airfield, located east of Aleppo. Later, exclusive footage from Kyiv Post sources appears to show HUR special forces attacking a Russian base in Syria, near Aleppo, where Moscow was producing and testing strike drones on Sept. 15,.