According to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SZR), the Russian private military company Wagner is facing a severe crisis in Mali, where the presence of more than 2,000 fighters has fueled instability, limited access to resources, and caused clashes with the local army.
On Sunday, Aug. 31, the SZR reported a deepening crisis within Wagner in Mali. As per SZR, despite Moscow’s promises to stabilize the country and combat jihadist groups, Wagner’s deployment has exacerbated violence and strained relations with Mali’s armed forces.
In August 2021, Colonel Assimi Goïta seized power in a military coup. His junta quickly cut ties with Western partners, including France, and forged an alliance with Russia. The Kremlin pledged security support through Wagner, a private army controlled by Russian intelligence and the Ministry of Defense.
Wagner emerged in 2014 during Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Initially, the group served as Moscow’s “invisible” tool for operations it could officially deny. Over time, Wagner became a global instrument of influence, operating in Syria, Libya, and multiple African countries.
Wagner had already gained experience in Sudan and the Central African Republic, where it protected dictatorial regimes in exchange for concessions in the extraction of gold, diamonds, and other resources.
In Mali, Wagner’s mission to fight the Sahel’s largest jihadist network, JNIM (“al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb”), instead led to conflicts with Malian forces, escalating violence.
According to the SZR, civilian deaths quadrupled between 2022 and 2024, rising from 736 per year to over 3,000. Approximately 80% of these deaths were caused by Malian troops and Wagner forces, who reportedly employed terror tactics against local populations.
“The Russian tactic – terror against ordinary Malians – has proven ineffective: the population refuses to cooperate with them,” the SZR reported.
Tensions between Wagner mercenaries and Mali’s army have worsened, including disobedience, misappropriation of military equipment, and documented instances of racist abuse against local soldiers. In August 2024, these tensions culminated in mass reprisals against dozens of officers who openly opposed Wagner’s methods.
Unlike operations in Sudan and the CAR, where Wagner secured resource concessions, Russian forces in Mali failed to control mining operations. Goïta rejected Moscow’s demands and sought alternative partners for both security cooperation and resource extraction.
Wagner’s setbacks in Mali reflect a broader pattern of operational difficulties across Africa. Ukrainian intelligence and media sources have documented multiple instances of counter-Wagner activity, highlighting both the group’s overreach and the active resistance by local forces and Ukrainian operatives.
Ukraine’s countermeasures in Africa
Last year, Kyiv Post published exclusive photos of Tuaregs – nomadic North African tribes who are key players in the conflict. The images showed fighters posing with a Ukrainian flag after defeating Wagner mercenaries in Africa, demonstrating their support for Ukraine.
In May 2023, Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) chief, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, pledged to “destroy Russian war criminals anywhere in the world they may be.” In line with this, Kyiv Post acquired exclusive footage in February 2024 allegedly showing Ukrainian special forces interrogating captured Wagner mercenaries in Sudan, who reportedly confessed that their mission was to enter Sudan and overthrow the government.
Earlier, in November 2023 and January 2024, Kyiv Post published exclusive videos allegedly showing Ukrainian special forces conducting operations against Wagner fighters and their local collaborators in Sudan, including drone strikes and “clean-up” missions.
Ukrainian HUR special forces continue to hunt pro-Kremlin Wagner mercenaries beyond Africa. In June 2024, Kyiv Post released exclusive footage of Ukrainian forces targeting enemy checkpoints, strongholds, patrols, and columns of military equipment in the Golan Heights, Syria.
According to Kyiv Post’s HUR source, since the beginning of the year, 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.
By late July 2024, Kyiv Post obtained several exclusive videos and photos documenting the ongoing HUR operations targeting Russian forces in Syria. According to sources within the Ukrainian special services, the Khimik group, a covert special operations unit within HUR, conducted a complex strike against Russian occupation forces, specifically targeting military equipment at Kuweires airfield, east of Aleppo.
Later Exclusive footage from Kyiv Post sources appears to show HUR special forces attacking a Russian base in Syria, near Aleppo, on Sept. 15, 2024, where Moscow was producing and testing strike drones.