Russian mercenaries ambushed in Mali, top Wagner commander killed
6:31 AM EDT, July 30, 2024
A few days ago, Russian mercenaries fighting on the side of government forces fell into a rebel ambush in Mali. Ukrainian military intelligence has now commented on the matter, suggesting that Tuareg rebels had received essential information from them to carry out a successful military operation against the Russians.
The incident occurred in northern Mali, near the border with Algeria. Over the weekend, the rebels announced a major victory over the Wagner Group Russian mercenaries after the ambush, which, according to the "Wall Street Journal," might have been one of the deadliest attacks on Russian forces in Africa in years.
Reportedly, among the dead were the top commander of the Wagner Group, Sergey Shevchenko, and Nikita Fedyanin, the owner of a popular Telegram channel associated with Wagner - Gray Zone.
After a few days, Ukrainian military intelligence responded to the matter. The spokesperson suggested that Kyiv was key in helping the Tuareg rebels carry out the operation.
Commenting on the Wagner forces' defeat in Mali, Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, said that the Tuareg rebels "received information, among other things, necessary to carry out a successful military operation against Russian war criminals." He added that he could not disclose any details.
On Monday, "Kyiv Post" published a photo showing Tuareg rebels posing with the Ukrainian flag after defeating the Wagner Group forces.
The Wagner Group has been present in Mali since 2021, when France withdrew its peacekeeping forces from the country following a coup and interim President Assimi Goita invited Russian mercenaries to replace them.
How many Wagner mercenaries have died in Africa?
The exact number of casualties among Wagner Group fighters is unknown, but social media videos showing the dead depict around 30 bodies.
The Russian Telegram channel Baza reported that at least 20 Wagner fighters died. The Rybar channel, closely associated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, reported that the losses among the mercenary group "did not exceed several dozen." A source previously associated with the Wagner Group told "BBC News Russian" that at least 82 mercenaries had died.
Some Wagner Group fighters involved in the battles were reportedly captured. Russian military blogger Boris Rozhin said that one of the prisoners was a fighter named Anton Yelizarov, who became the de facto commander of the Wagner Group after the mercenary group's co-founder Dmitry Utkin died in a plane crash along with Yevgeny Prigozhin in August 2023.
