Ukrainian military intelligence is organizing drone training courses for militants in Mali, Russia’s SVR says
International terrorist organizations are seeking to benefit from Ukraine’s efforts to share its drone warfare expertise with militant groups abroad, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
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 organizing training courses for drone pilots, including kamikaze drones, in African territory, specifically in Mali,” he told his counterparts in Samarkand.
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 media investigations reported that Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) provided assistance to militant groups in Africa and Western Asia as part of Kiev’s efforts to counter Russian influence abroad.
One reported recipient was Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian successor to the local branch of Al-Qaeda, which spearheaded the offensive that toppled former President Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024. The group’s former leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, now heads the country.
HTS was designated as a terrorist organization by the US and UN at the time of the reported Ukrainian assistance, although the designations have since been lifted.
The HUR has also reportedly supported the Tuareg-led Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA), a separatist militant coalition in Mali. While the group itself is not internationally designated as a terrorist organization, it has worked militarily 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.
