Mali Denies Deployment of Russian Mercenaries, Says Only 'Trainers' Present

Malian soldiers celebrate after the handover ceremony of the Barkhane military base by the French army in Timbuktu, on Dec. 14, 2021. (AFP)
Malian soldiers celebrate after the handover ceremony of the Barkhane military base by the French army in Timbuktu, on Dec. 14, 2021. (AFP)
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Mali Denies Deployment of Russian Mercenaries, Says Only 'Trainers' Present

Malian soldiers celebrate after the handover ceremony of the Barkhane military base by the French army in Timbuktu, on Dec. 14, 2021. (AFP)
Malian soldiers celebrate after the handover ceremony of the Barkhane military base by the French army in Timbuktu, on Dec. 14, 2021. (AFP)

Mali's government has denied the presence of Russian mercenaries in the West African country after 15 Western powers accused Russia of providing material support to a deployment of private military contractors.

France, Canada and 13 European nations on Thursday condemned Moscow for facilitating an alleged deployment of private military contractors from the Russia-backed Wagner Group to Mali, where the government is battling an extremist insurgency.

Government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga in a statement late on Friday denied that "elements of a private security company" had been deployed to Mali. He said "Russian trainers" were present as part of a bilateral agreement between Mali and Russia.

Mali "formally denies these baseless allegations and demands that evidence be brought by independent sources," Maiga said. "Russian trainers are in Mali as part of the reinforcement of the operational capacities of the National Defense and Security Forces."

It was not immediately clear who the Russian trainers were, nor their exact role. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization could not immediately be reached for clarification early on Saturday.

Earlier this month the European Union suspended its training mission for soldiers in Central African Republic (CAR) because of fears it could get tied up in violations of international law by Russian mercenaries, including the Wagner Group.

The United States, which sanctioned Wagner for its actions in CAR earlier this year, has repeatedly condemned any potential deployment of Russian mercenaries to Mali.

The US State Department has said that such a deployment would cost the Malian government upwards of $10 million per month and further destabilize the country as it struggles to ward of extremists.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Wagner Group do not represent the Russian state, but that private military contractors have the right to work anywhere in the world so long as they do not break Russian law.



Russia, Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
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Russia, Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)

Russia and Ukraine said Tuesday they had exchanged captured soldiers, the second stage of an agreement struck at peace talks last week for each side to free more than 1,000 prisoners.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday's exchange saw "the return of our injured and severely wounded warriors from Russian captivity."

Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed in the swap -- the second in as many days following another exchange on Monday.

The two sides had agreed in Istanbul last week to release all wounded soldiers and all under the age of 25.

Russia's defense ministry said: "In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul, the second group of Russian servicemen was returned."

Zelensky said further exchanges would follow.

"The exchanges are to continue. We are doing everything we can to find and return every single person who is in captivity."

The agreement had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, with both sides trading accusations of attempting to thwart the exchange.

Russia says Ukraine has still not agreed to collect the bodies of killed soldiers, after Moscow said more than 1,200 corpses were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border.

Russia said it had agreed to hand over the remains of 6,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers, while Kyiv said it would be an "exchange".

Moscow and Kyiv have carried out dozens of prisoner exchanges since Russia invaded in 2022, triggering Europe's largest conflict since World War II.