Ukraine’s Secret War Against Russia Did Not Stay in Ukraine

The post confirms GUR covert support to Mali rebels against Wagner. The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, posted a public statement on Military Intelligence Day alongside a series of images showing GUR operatives across multiple continents, confirming that Ukrainian agents work “from Russia to Africa, from suits to camouflage” to safeguard Ukrainian interests “by any means necessary.”

The post also accompanied photographs of GUR operators that Ukraine previously disowned diplomatically. 

Interesting Selection of images:

The photographs Budanov posted do not come with captions. GUR operatives appear in desert terrain, in dense urban environments, and in what appears to be a snow covered landscape that the post links to Antarctica.

Among the photographs included in the post are images that match, in precise detail, photographs published by the Kyiv Post in 2024 that triggered a diplomatic crisis across the Sahel.

(Ukrainian government)

The gear, the operators and the tactical setup in Budanov’s post match the photographs from 2024 in enough detail to leave little room for alternative explanation.

The images Budanov chose to publish on Military Intelligence Day are the same images that Ukraine’s government spent months publicly distancing itself from.

The Ambush That First Made People Pay Attention

In July 2024, Tuareg rebels ambushed a Wagner convoy in Mali’s Tinzaouaten desert. At least 84 Wagner fighters and 47 Malian soldiers were killed. For several days nobody claimed responsibility.

Then GUR spokesman Andrii Yusov spoke up. “The rebels received necessary information, and not just information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals,” he said, adding that more details would follow.

Tuareg rebels ambushed a joint convoy of the Malian army and the Russian Wagner Group near the Algerian border, inflicting the deadliest defeat on Russian mercenaries in Africa in years. (X: @rukigafm)

The fallout came quickly. Mali and Niger cut diplomatic ties with Kyiv. Ukraine’s ambassador in Senegal was summoned after reposting Yusov’s statement on social media. Facing a diplomatic crisis it had not prepared for, Kyiv walked back the admission and publicly denied involvement.

By then the words were already out and the damage on both sides, to Wagner and to Ukraine’s relationships across the Sahel, had been done.

Ukraine Influence in Sudan

A year before the Mali ambush, a quieter operation was already running in Khartoum. In August 2023, Kyiv sent approximately 100 special forces troops into Sudan’s capital as civil war broke out between the national army and the Wagner backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The mission started as an evacuation but expanded into something more direct.

CNN later documented Ukrainian drone strikes against RSF positions in at least eight separate incidents near Khartoum. The drone controllers had Ukrainian text on them. The attack method, drones diving directly into targets, had not been seen on the African continent before.

One photograph from that period drew particular attention. Never officially confirmed or denied by Kyiv, it showed a fair skinned operator in arid terrain carrying what appeared to be a Barrett MRAD bolt action sniper rifle

An alleged Ukrainian sniper taking an aim against his target somewhere in Sudan.

Why Ukraine Is Fighting Russia in Africa

Wagner’s African operations have never been purely military. The group extracts gold, diamonds and oil from the countries where it operates, revenues that flow directly back into Russia’s war economy. Disrupting those operations in Africa puts pressure on the same financial machinery sustaining the war in Ukraine.

There is also a more direct calculation at work. Many Wagner fighters operating across Africa gained their experience on Ukrainian soil and are held by Kyiv responsible for documented atrocities there. As one Ukrainian security analyst said, Russian war criminals should know they will never be safe anywhere in the world. Budanov’s post suggests that position has not changed and is unlikely to.