Video footage appears to show Ukrainian special forces ‘cleaning out’ Wagner Group troops in Sudan and ambushing the mercenaries with RPGs in shocking urban warfare.
Grainy infrared images from above show Ukrainian soldiers in a densely populated, undisclosed area of Sudan “over the past two weeks,” the newspaper said. Kyiv post.
The clip shows the unit moving to surround a compound and the alleged enemy mercenaries, marked with red squares.
From one vantage point you see multiple targets moving around a building, seemingly oblivious to the approaching agents. An explosion suddenly rocks the building, which erupts with a huge plume of smoke.
A Ukrainian soldier is seen firing a portable RPG at the window of the building.
A source in the Ukrainian security and defense sector told the Kyiv Post that Ukrainian special forces are currently working in Sudan to “clean up” Wagner PMC, as well as “their local terrorists and the special services of the Russian Federation.”
They said: ‘The images probably show the work of special units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.’
A source told the Kyiv Post that the video “probably shows the work” of elite Ukrainian agents
You’ll see targets, marked with a red square, moving through a window
The window then erupts with smoke, apparently after being hit with an RPG
The clip, which lasts just over two minutes, shows Ukrainian troops piling up outside the compound apparently used by Wagner Group mercenaries.
From other angles, cameras show a group of individuals moving around a building from a window.
The building is suddenly shrouded in smoke after an apparent Ukrainian attack.
Without infrared imagery, the building is shown illuminated against a backdrop of darkness as the RPG strikes.
In slow motion, the images show a projectile heading straight for the window.
Individuals, again marked with a red square, are then quickly fled the scene into the city streets.
Thermal footage shows the trail of the RPG being launched towards the building before exploding in bright yellow and white.
One second video obtained by the Ukrainian outlet appeared to show the scene from an airplane some 200-400 meters above the ground.
In September, an anonymous source told CNN that a series of drone attacks on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were carried out by a “non-Sudanese” army, claiming that “Ukrainian special services were likely responsible.”
The attacks began on September 8, two days after the Wagner Group sent weapons-laden trucks to an RSF garrison in al-Zurug, southwestern Sudan.
The RSF has been engaged in a power struggle with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 15, 2023.
At least six attacks targeted trucks on the Shambat Bridge and another eight hit vehicles, buildings and personnel near RSF positions in Omdurman and Ombada.
Analysis of drone footage by CNN revealed Ukrainian text seen on the drone controller.
Whistleblowers in Chad told CNN that the Wagner convoy passed through Chad, where the Wagner Group currently has no established presence, possibly indicating an expansion of Russia and Wagner’s influence on the continent.
Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the ambush.
Wagner Group has been present in Sudan since 2017 and has distributed weapons across the continent.
In April, its late founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that “not a single Wagner PMC (private military company) fighter has been present in Sudan for more than two years.”
But there is evidence mounted of Wagner arming the RSF with missiles to fuel the war against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Also images from July 2022 popped up to show mercenaries training Sudanese troops in parachute landing exercises.
The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) assessed in April that Wagner sought both influence and material gain in Sudan.
“The Russians’ main goal in Sudan is not to protect Khartoum’s political power, but essentially to profit enormously from the country’s mineral resources.”
Russia has also signed a trade agreement offers in the past to mine gold in Sudan.
From another perspective, smoke rises from the building after a direct hit
Troops were seen at the undisclosed location massing up near a compound
Wagner PMC mercenaries have played a key role in Putin’s devastating invasion of Ukraine – and have influence in Africa
PMC Wagner Group is spread across Russian-influenced African countries
In December 2022, civilian groups sidelined by a 2021 coup signed an initial agreement with the military to start a new two-year political transition and appoint a new civilian government.
On April 5, 2023, the final signing of the deal was postponed for a second time, amid disputes over whether the military would be placed under civilian control in a new government and how the RSF would be integrated into the armed forces.
In this volatile environment, the relationship between de facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, RSF military leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, became tense, eventually leading to conflict. while RSF personnel were tactically transferred to roles in Sudan.
Both sides initially accused each other of starting the conflict in April 2023 and were loathe to negotiate. Both have called on the other side to surrender.
The region remains geopolitically important and Western allies fear the possible establishment of a Russian base on the Red Sea’s eastern coast, which some military leaders have been receptive to.