OPINION: How Wagner Undermines Sudan, and How Ukraine Responds

In April 2023, a war broke out in Sudan between the rebellious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese National Army. Its impact has been devasting. Thousands have been killed and millions displaced.

But what’s also alarming is that Russia, utilizing its infamous Wagner group, is backing the RSF, aiming at advancing its interests, among which finding sources to fund its unjust war in Ukraine.

To curb the expansion of Russia in the country, Ukraine is taking several strategic steps that have been successful thus far. This intervention, however, needs to be expanded to fully address this serious threat.

The RSF emerged primarily from a restructuring of the Janjaweed militia in 2013. It was first tasked with supporting the central government’s counterinsurgency operations in Darfur and South Kordofan. In 2017, the Sudanese parliament passed a law legitimizing its activities.

The militia is headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and is known for its countless crimes and atrocities.

Wagner in Africa

Wagner’s presence in Sudan began in 2017 as one of the outcomes of a meeting between ousted president Omar al-Bashir and Putin. In the following years, gold companies affiliated with Wagner Group, such as M-Invest and Meroe Gold, started operating in Sudan, these companies then started smuggling Sudanese gold to Russia to circumvent Western sanctions.

It was reported that Wagner’s leader had promised to provide more military support to the militia in exchange for smuggled Sudanese gold. As with their activities in other parts of the world, Wagner’s gold operations were accompanied by the terrorization and intimidation of locals in the areas of exploration and mining.

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Russia is also backing the RSF militia in the hope that once it takes over the country, it can continue building its military base east of the country and gain a strong foothold in the Red Sea area – a step for which the RSF leader once advocated.

In return, Wagner has been supplying the RSF militia with arms and weapons to wage its war. The military cooperation between the RSF and Wagner has morphed into a crucial part of the relationship between the two rouge militias.

In April 2023, an investigative report by CNN revealed that the Wagner Group facilitated the transfer of surface-to-air missiles from General Khalifa Haftar in Libya to the RSF militia. The purpose of this military assistance was to offset the air dominance of the Sudanese army.

Moreover, the US and French intelligence services believe that Wagner was shipping anti-aircraft guns and light weapons from the Central African Republic to the RSF militia. Wagner has also been allegedly supplying the RSF militia with oil from Libya. Both the RSF militia and the Wagner Group have been secretive about their relationship; for example, the RSF militia completely denied any connection to Wagner, and the Wagner Group falsely claimed that it had no presence in Sudan.

Despite its destructive role in Sudan, Russia kept pretending to be a neutral actor. But in reality, it is playing all sides. For instance, at the outset of the war, the Russian foreign minister defended the operation of Wagner in the country by saying that Sudan has the right to use Wagner, Russia also abstained from voting on a UN resolution that requested a cease-fire. By contrast, in April 2024, Russia urged the RSF to prioritize peace and also directed a couple of diesel shipments to Sudan.

Moreover, the deputy chairman of the Sudanese transitional council, Malik Agar, paid a visit to Russia and met with its leadership cabinet. During the recent visit of the Russian envoy to Sudan, he stated the support of his country to the existing legitimacy in the country as represented by the sovereign council. In February 2022, while the whole world was condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the RSF leader visited Moscow and defended its unjust move, sending a strong signal as to whom Russia would support in the long run in Sudan.

Where Ukraine stands

Thus far, Ukraine has addressed this Wagner threat through different approaches. For instance, Ukraine’s special forces launched several attacks and succeeded in interrogating some of the Wagner soldiers fighting together with the RSF. Ukraine has also developed diplomatic ties with Sudan by opening its first embassy in Khartoum. The presidents of both countries even held a meeting in Ireland and discussed common security issues, specifically about illegal groups funded by Russia.

Most recently, Ukraine sent a couple of wheat shipments to Sudan as part of the Grain from Ukraine initiative.

Indeed, Russia hasn’t been comfortable with the Ukrainian intervention and sought to undermine it by resorting to its favorite disinformation machine, most recently, it has been exposed that Russia is planning a disinformation campaign that spread the fabricated message that Ukraine is using Western arms in its operation in Sudan.

Moreover, the Russian ambassador to Sudan denied the fact that Sudan has been supplying Ukraine with arms to defend itself against the invasion. Photos taken out of their original context were used to disinform readers that Russia has started supplying the Sudanese army with arms and weapons in its war against RSF. All these attempts failed to persuade the Sudanese people and sway them from the basic reality that Russia is completely standing on the wrong side of history and serving its own limited interests. 

The Wagner threat is represented in this rouge group smuggling Sudanese gold and transferring it to Russia through the facilitation of the UAE, which is also the main backer of the RSF with money and arms.

Currently, the US has imposed sanctions on UAE-based companies that are affiliated with Wagner and are engaged in illicit gold trading in Sudan and other African countries. Recently, The European Parliament decided to keep the UAE on its watch list for facilitating gold smuggling and supporting the RSF.

For Ukraine to fully handle the Wagner issue, both in Sudan and the region, it should lobby its Western allies to put more pressure on the UAE to stop sponsoring the RSF and Wagner militias, by imposing more sanctions and strict policies to eliminate one of Putin’s main sources of funding.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.