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.



Russian Troops Push into Ukraine’s Sumy Region

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Russian Troops Push into Ukraine’s Sumy Region

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Basivka in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, and were battering Ukrainian forces at a host of settlements in the area.

More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv sent thousands of troops over the border into Russia's Kursk region in August last year though a Russian offensive over recent months has pushed most of Ukrainian forces out of Kursk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly suggested that Russian forces carve out a buffer zone along the border.

Russia's defense ministry said that it had taken the village of Basivka, just over the border from Sudzha, and had struck Ukrainian forces at 12 other points in the Sumy region.

Ukrainian officials later denied the report, saying Russian forces were not in control of Basivka.

"As of today, the Russians do not control Basivka in Sumy region. They are trying to run in there in assault groups and look for cellars in order to gain a foothold, but the enemy is being destroyed," Andriy Kovalenko, an official of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram messenger.

"The fighting in the Sumy region border area is complex and continues daily in several areas, and is also taking place in the Kursk border area," he added.

Russia's defense ministry also said that Russia had defeated Ukrainian units in the Russian settlements of Gornal, Guevo and Oleshnya.

The pro-Ukrainian DeepState war map shows Ukraine in control of about 63 square kilometers (24 square miles) of Russian territory, down from as much as 1,400 square kilometers claimed by Kyiv last year.

Another 81 square kilometers of territory along the border - including Basivka - is classed by DeepState as of "unknown" control.

Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014, and most but not all of four other regions which Moscow now claims are part of Russia - a claim not recognized by most countries.

Russia controls all of Crimea, almost all of Luhansk, and more than 70% of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to Russian estimates. It also controls a sliver of Kharkiv region.