Ukrainian Troops in Sudan and Their Link to the RSF and Wagner

In the midst of the chaos engulfing Sudan since the attempted coup by the Rapid Support Forces militia led by Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) to overthrow the army and seize control of the country, and as the civil war between them enters its thirteenth month, reports have emerged about the presence of Ukrainian forces in Sudan.

These reports were further reinforced by Ukrainian newspapers publishing news of Ukrainian "special and intelligence forces" in Sudan, allegedly targeting Wagner Group mercenaries loyal to the Russian army, amid the Russo–Ukrainian war following Moscow's invasion in 2022 and Ukraine's claims of victories over them.

Subsequently, American and European newspapers began to detail more about this Ukrainian presence in Sudan.

These reports were also reinforced by the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sudanese Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at Shannon Airport in Ireland on September 23, 2023.

"We discussed our common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia," the Ukrainian leader said at the time.

This raised questions about what the Ukrainian army is doing in Sudan, what is the size of these forces, who brought them into Sudan, and what are the implications for prolonging the war and creating international dimensions for it.

Frontlines

Assistant to the Sudanese Army Commander-in-Chief, Major General Yasser al-Atta, previously accused the United Arab Emirates, Chad, and Wagner of providing military support to the Rapid Support Forces, statements denied by Abu Dhabi as well as N'Djamena, but the situation on the ground confirms that.

Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, which were captured in the drone footage. After this report was published, Andrii Yusov, representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, told CNN: "We can neither confirm nor deny this."

However, it was noted that these strikes came just two days after Wagner facilitated the arrival of a large arms convoy to the Rapid Support Forces at the Zarq military base southwest, near the border with Chad, according to a high-level Sudanese source.

At that time, CNN reported obtaining satellite images showing over 100 vehicles, including dozens of trucks, at the Zarq military base, delivered by Wagner to the Rapid Support Forces.

It indicated that the attacks included 14 different strikes on sites of weapons and equipment belonging to the Rapid Support Forces, which Wagner is believed to have supported.

Videos have been circulating in October and November 2023 confirming the presence of Ukrainian special forces in Sudan, conducting operations against Russian private military company Wagner and its local allies in the Rapid Support Forces.

Later, on February 5, 2024, the Ukrainian Kyiv Post officially confirmed the presence of Ukrainian forces in Sudan, airing a short video clip reportedly obtained from sources within the Ukrainian military intelligence responsible for covert operations.

The video shows mercenaries from the private military company Wagner being interrogated in Sudan, along with other Africans fighting alongside Hemedti's militia.

The Russian soldier stated that he was from Wagner and had come to Sudan from the Central African Republic, where fighters from the Russian group are stationed, to overthrow the Sudanese government (the army) with a force of about 100 individuals.

Later, in September 2023, a circulated video clip depicted the targeting of Rapid Support Forces elements in Omdurman and the capital Khartoum, featuring high-resolution footage, bolstering the belief in the involvement of Ukrainian special forces in the attack.

The following day, on February 6, 2024, The Guardian published a report detailing information and video clips confirming the presence of Ukrainian special forces actively operating in Sudan to support the army against Wagner Group mercenaries allied with the Rapid Support Forces.

According to The Guardian, Ukraine is adopting a strategy of conducting special forces operations inside Sudan, similar to Russia, in an attempt to score propaganda victories against its adversary and demonstrate that there are no safe havens from its forces, even though they rarely hold military significance.

The report mentioned another segment of a video showing Ukrainian special forces inspecting a military vehicle at night, removing a Wagner soldier's card from a soldier who appeared dead in his seat. However, the images were extremely dark and unclear to be definitive.

The presence of Ukrainian forces in Sudan, according to the newspaper, stems from the support provided to the Rapid Support Forces by Wagner, which also mined gold in the country and used it to fund Moscow's war in Ukraine.

A Risky Move

The latest revelation came from an investigation by The Wall Street Journal on March 6, 2024, confirming the presence of Ukrainian forces in Sudan to support the army in its fight against the Rapid Support Forces.

The newspaper suggested that this is evidence that the front line in the war between Ukraine and Russia is currently extending into Africa.

When Sudanese General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan found himself besieged in Khartoum, he contacted his unexpected ally Zelenskyy, who seized the opportunity and sent commando forces to Sudan to rescue al-Burhan.

According to the newspaper, information from the investigation is based on interviews with many Ukrainian soldiers who fought in Sudan, as well as Sudanese soldiers, and video footage from Sudan that was reviewed.

It confirmed that within a few weeks of the phone call, Ukrainian special forces landed in Sudan and began fighting to expel the Rapid Support Forces from Khartoum, according to several Ukrainian soldiers involved in the operation.

A Ukrainian officer, who goes by the call sign Prada and led one of the Ukrainian teams in Sudan, commented, "It's impossible to bypass Russia by fighting over a small piece of land, like the front line in Ukraine."

"If they have gold mines in Sudan, we need to make them unprofitable for them."

Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, who heads the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR), declined to comment when asked by The Wall Street Journal whether his forces were deployed in Sudan, but he identified the logical basis for sending Ukrainian forces abroad.

"" Budanov said. "We are in a full-fledged war with Russia…They have units in different parts of the world, and we sometimes try to strike them there." 

Budanov stated that "War is a risky business" and that they are in a comprehensive war with Russia that "have units in different parts of the world, and we sometimes try to strike them there."

He added that they obtained a lot of weapons from Sudan at that time. Many countries paid a lot of money to acquire them. They had a variety of weapons; "You can find everything from Chinese to American weapons there."

The American newspaper states that the first wave of Ukrainian forces, numbering about 100 soldiers, mostly from the HUR's Timur unit, arrived in Sudan in mid-August 2023.

Ukrainian forces in Sudan began training Sudanese soldiers in some tactics that helped them counter the larger Russian army, especially in using drones, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A soldier belonging to the Timur unit of Ukrainian military intelligence mentioned that they also collaborated with Sudanese forces in planting mines on supply routes leading to Khartoum. He clarified that in one operation, they booby-trapped a truck that broke down in the middle of the road.

The next morning, when the enemy's infantry-filled truck crossed, they detonated it, he explained.

According to the newspaper, Prada and his team returned to Ukraine earlier this year (2024), and none of the Ukrainian units reported any losses in Sudan.

Observers believe that Ukraine's influence in Sudan with its drones, followed by the arrival of Iranian aircraft and equipment, played a role in the Sudanese army's recent victories, regaining control of vast areas of Omdurman, a significant breakthrough in the conflict.

Experts largely attribute these gains to the precision of drone attacks, in addition to the deployment of elite units within the Sudanese army.

Well-Known and Monitored

A former Sudanese diplomat in Cairo clarified to Al-Estiklal that Wagner's presence in Sudan is "established, monitored, and well-known."

Their collaboration with Hemedti's militia to plunder Sudan and finance the war is documented within a tripartite alliance between Hemedti, Wagner, and the Emirates.

He stated that Vice President of the Sovereignty Council Malik Agar's visit to Russia to request Moscow's support in stopping the war may have conveyed a clear message regarding Sudan's suffering from Wagner. Hence, he went to Russia directly to request its intervention to rein in the mercenaries.

He explained that Agar visited Russia twice on June 30, 2023, and July 27, 2023, twice within a month, leading a delegation to attend the African–Russian Summit, and this time he spoke clearly about Wagner's role in destabilizing Sudan by supporting Hemedti's forces indirectly.

In his speech, he clearly addressed the "issue of controlling and monitoring semi-military formations and non-governmental forces that pose a threat to the unity and integrity of states in the world and in the African Sahel region in particular," which are diplomatic messages to Russia.

This means, implicitly, Sudan's response, by allowing Ukrainian special forces to hunt down Wagner mercenaries and thwart their plans to support Hemedti, at the request of the Emirates, according to him.

However, Sudanese journalist specializing in Sudanese affairs, Sabah Moussa, clarified that Malik Agar's visit to Russia on June 30, 2023, was to ask officials there for help in ending the Sudanese war.

She suggested to Al-Estiklal that this may indicate good relations between Sudan and Russia, which prevented Wagner from supporting Hemedti, especially as several reports suggested Wagner's departure from Sudan with the outbreak of the civil war in April 2023.

Moussa pointed out that there are no internal accusations in Sudan about the presence of Ukrainian intelligence forces there, and if there were such forces, the question remains: why did American and Western newspapers raise this issue, and what harm does Washington incur from it?

She speculated that the presence of Russian support, through Wagner, for the Rapid Support Forces, as part of the American-Russian competition in the region, prompted a Ukrainian media response to the Russian invasion by indicating that they would chase Moscow wherever it is.

But the irony, according to Sabah Moussa, is that there is no American support for the Sudanese army in return. Instead, there is a sharp division within the U.S. administration between Congress and the State Department on how to address the situation in Sudan.

She explained that the catastrophe in Sudan, which has brought things to this point, reflects a determination on the part of Americans and the West to support the "Forces of Freedom and Change" movement. This is what has kept it alive in Sudan until now.

She pointed out that this American support for the movement is evident through the German UN envoy Volker Perthes, who was expelled by Khartoum. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry stated that Perthes is "unwelcome."

Similarly, John Godfrey, the former Washington ambassador to Khartoum, expressed his frustration on X where he spoke of warring parties unfit to govern in Sudan. He resigned, and Daniel Rubinstein took his place.

"The bottom line is that the Americans do not support the army under any circumstances. It is true they do not support the Rapid Support Forces, but they are in favor of a policy of exhausting both sides," according to journalist Sabah Moussa.

Nevertheless, an Egyptian political analyst did not rule out to Al-Estiklal the possibility of the presence of Ukrainian special forces in Sudan to strike Russian mercenaries, with implicit American approval, "as long as it proves useful in antagonizing Moscow."

Or a "possible alternative" to the withheld American support for the Sudanese army in its coup against the leftist Forces of Freedom and Change movement that participated in the government on October 25, 2021.

Russia has been implementing plans to increase its influence in Africa for years, some of which are based on gold extraction and training fighters in several African countries.

However, sending forces to Africa for Ukraine is a new and bold project, part of a strategy to disrupt Russian military and economic operations abroad and make the war more costly for Moscow, according to analysts.