Vid goes to Ukraine's special mission to capture Wagner fighters in Sudan after vowing to hunt mercenaries worldwide
Ukraine's special forces have reportedly captured Russian Wagner mercenaries fighting in Sudan after Kiev vowed to hunt them down “wherever they are”.
Images of an interrogation suggest that The Kremlin's shadowy army of criminals is working to foment further chaos within the war-torn state.
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The video, shared by Ukraine military intelligence with the Kyiv postshowed a captured Russian prisoner being interrogated along with two African men.
A masked Ukrainian interrogator asked which unit they belonged to and the Russian prisoner replied: “PMC Wagner”.
Two of Wagner's signature insignias are then shown to the camera next to the three men – all dressed in military khaki, tied up and blindfolded.
When asked how they ended up in Sudan, the man said they drove from the Central African Republic (CAR) – where Waqner has a significant presence – to Sudan's capital. Khartoum.
The mercenary explained that with a force of about 100 men, their mission was “to overthrow the local government.”
The two African prisoners, possibly recruited by the Wagner Group, said they were paid $1,000 (£800) to be part of it.
The location and content of the video have not been independently verified.
Sources within the Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR) said: “The work on the destruction of Russian mercenaries and their local terrorist partners in Sudan is likely to be carried out by a Ukrainian special force.”
'We have planned work [in Sudan] is being carried out,” they told the Kyiv Post.
Ukrainian sources have said this CNN in September that Ukraine was “likely responsible” for a series of drone attacks and ground operations near Khartoum.
In recent months, widely circulated videos have shown what appears to be there Ukrainian drones targeting Russian mercenaries and Wagner-backed militias.
Sources revealed that the operation involved attacks on the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is battling the Sudanese army for control and is believed to have support from Wagner.
Ukraine is unlikely to officially confirm the deployment of its troops abroad.
However, last May, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence Kyrylo Budanovpromised to “destroy Russian war criminals around the world, wherever they are.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky also met with Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in September, saying they discussed our “common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia.”
More footage from the recently released HUR video showed weapons and military khakis scattered across a dusty desert floor, indicating that a significant force had been there.
In another part of the clip, Ukrainian special operations forces from the Timur battle group (part of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Department) examine military vehicles.
One shows a truck with serious signs of damage and the body of a soldier in the passenger seat.
The Ukrainian fighters appear to remove a Wagner card from the soldier, but the video is murky.
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The conflict in Sudan
Sudan has been ravaged by civil war since last spring.
On April 15, 2023, a armed conflict broke out between the Sudanese army and the main paramilitary force in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The fighting is largely concentrated in the capital Khartoum, but has also spread to war-weary communities Darfur region.
It immediately caused global panic as countries rushed evacuate their citizens of the rapidly spreading violence.
The civil war – which has now killed thousands of people and displaced millions – has also rekindled a two-decade-old ethnic conflict in the West. Darfur region.
Observers have accused Wagner of helping to support RSF rebels to sow chaos in the country.
The mercenary army has been present in Sudan since 2017, providing security services and monitoring gold mining concessions.
Washington also argued last summer that Wagner supplied the RSF with surface-to-air missiles.
Shadowy army
The role of the dark mercenary army in six countries in Africa is often difficult to follow.
They usually wear no recognizable uniforms, their vehicles are unmarked and their faces are masked.
However, Wagner has had a documented presence in Sudan since 2017, providing so-called security services and overseeing gold mining.
In reality, the mercenaries are acting on behalf of the Russian state to finance bloodshed and help cause problems in their support of paramilitary forces.
The Wagner Group's playbook in Africa was defined by chaos, atrocities and a hunt for gold to help finance Russia's bloody war in Ukraine is entering its third year.
At arm's length from the Kremlin – Wagner offers Vladimir Putin with a level of denial and unpredictability that is essential to their mission.
Last week, as part of the Kremlin's takeover of Wagner since the death of its warlord leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in August its troops in Africa are renamed the “Africa Corps”.
The dark army now shares its name with Nazi forces stationed in North Africa world War 2 and last week an extensive recruitment campaign was launched to recruit 20,000 new fighters.
The move signals that Moscow is significantly increasing its lethal operations across the continent.
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