Beyond the Frontline: Ukrainian Forces Targeting Russian Assets in Sudan

Ukrainian special forces have been spotted in Sudan, where Russian mercenaries extract vast sums of gold each year amid the country's ongoing civil war

Ukrainian special forces have been reportedly sighted in Sudan. Source

A video released on February 5 by Kyiv Post shows three men kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and yellow blindfolds over their eyes. Speaking in Russian, one man identifies himself as a “soldier” and his unit as “PMC Wagner”. He claims to have driven from the Central African Republic to Khartoum, Sudan with 100 people “to overthrow the local government”. The other two men knelt next to him claim to be locals. Although the Spanish newspaper El Pais claims this video confirms fighting between Ukrainian special forces and Russian mercenaries in Sudan, Wagner has denied the video’s authenticity on its official Telegram channel.

Teams of Ukrainian special forces are reportedly conducting assaults and using drones to target Wagner mercenaries and Russian-backed rebel forces operating in Sudan, expanding the scope of the Russian-Ukrainian war. This could impact on Russia’s ability to extract resources and evade sanctions moving forward.

RSF fighters posing with weapons in Khartoum. Source

Kiev enters the Sudanese Civil War in search of Russian interests

The latest video released by Kyiv Post underlines a series of reported operations by Ukrainian special forces engaging in Sudan’s ongoing civil war. The conflict, which broke out last April, has claimed the lives of 12,000 people and displaced an estimated eight million other to date. Reports indicate that Wagner has been supplying and training the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) from the war’s outset while taking an active role in the Sudanese gold market and operating a gold processing plant in the country. Although Wagner denies that it has sent operatives to Sudan, their reported presence has nonetheless attracted Kiev’s attention: on September 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to discuss the presence of Russian mercenaries in Sudan.  

The Kyiv Post has released additional footage of commercially available drones reportedly operated by Ukrainian special forces targeting Wagner and RSF positions in Sudan. In one video, a small drone crashes into a dark-colored SUV, immediately engulfing it in flames. These images and videos are the latest in a growing body of evidence released since last September reportedly showing teams of Ukrainian soldiers hunting Wagner and its allies in Sudan.

Last November, an infrared video was released showing a small armed unit moving through the streets of an unnamed Sudanese city. Armed with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and using a drone to observe, track and record targets inside of a building, greyscale soldiers are recorded decimating the building with fire. In October, open source investigators with Bellingcat found that photos of light-skinned snipers were taken in Sudan’s Al-Markhiyat mountains, west of the city of Omdurman: these were reportedly Ukrainian special forces. The earliest known footage of Ukrainian attacks in Sudan emerged in September following a series of 14 strikes against seven targets connected to the RSF in the neighboring cities of Khartoum and Omdurman.

Smoke bellows from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, which has been devastated by ongoing civil war between SAF and RSF forces. Source

Men identified as Ukrainian special forces operating in Sudan. Source

African resources are helping Russia to evade Western Sanctions

Kiev’s targeting of Russian assets in Sudan has the potential to undermine a key means by which Moscow has evaded sanctions since the start of the war between the two countries. Wagner has been present in Sudan since 2017 when they were initially contracted to provide support for the regime of then-President Omar al-Bashir: it was during this time that Wagner-affiliated companies began to access Sudan’s gold trade. In the years since, Wagner has been involved in the plunder of vast sums of gold from Sudan’s mining industry: allegedly flown out of the country by the planeload, Wagner smuggled an estimated 32.7 metric tons of Sudanese gold worth close to US $1.9 billion between February 2022 and February 2023 alone.

Although Wagner initially attempted to align itself with the Sudanese army after the 2019 coup, the relationship between the two quickly deteriorated and Wagner was relegated to a “guardianship role” protecting its mining interests. It was at some point between 2019 and 2023 that Wagner began to support the RSF as a means of better safeguarding its interests in the country. Wagner is also active in Mali, Libya, and the Central African Republic - countries where it has also faced criticism for resource theft.

A report by The Sentry accused Wagner of widespread human rights violations and mass atrocities, including massacres, torture, rape, and looting. Wagner reportedly earns vast sums of cash from the sale of oil, diamonds, and gold: it is estimated that the group generates over US $100 million per month from gold sales alone in the Central African Republic, Sudan and Mali. Wagner has also been accused of running extensive extortion rackets related to its resource extraction businesses, including alleged kidnappings, checkpoints, and even the collection of taxes on locally produced goods such as coffee.

Wagner’s activities in Africa help shield Russia from the vast sanctions imposed upon it that started with its 2014 annexation of Crimea and were expanded to unprecedented levels following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Gold plays a central role in this with reserves held by Russia’s central bank having quadrupled since 2010, helping to bolster the ruble and inject cash into the country’s wartime economy. Moreover, Wagner’s extraction and sale of other resources helps Russia to raise foreign currency: this foreign currency is much needed, given that some US $300 billion in Russian central bank assets have been frozen in Western banks since the outset of the war. In this way, Ukraine is targeting Russia’s ability to partially mitigate Western sanctions through its activities in Africa.

Conclusion

Ukraine is broadening the scope of its war with Russia by striking at Russian economic interests in Sudan. This could potentially impact Russia’s ability to evade sanctions, especially if Kiev expands its operations to other African countries in the region. Although the extent to which these apparent Ukrainian operations have impacted Russia’s commercial activity in Africa is unknown, the presence of Ukrainian special forces and the resulting conflict that accompanies them could deter other governments in the region from partnering with Russian PMCs: this could severely impact the future of Russia’s presence in Africa. Moreover, with Russian PMCs already notorious for their actions against civilians in the countries in which they operate, the presence of Ukrainian special forces in the region could exacerbate the humanitarian situation moving forward.