According to a military source who declined to be named and who was cited by Russian media, the UK’s MI6 foreign intelligence agency has made preparations for a Ukrainian unit to be sent to Africa to conduct sabotage operations against targets with ties to Russia.
A military-diplomatic source said on Wednesday “that a sabotage and punitive detachment made up of members of Ukrainian nationalist and neo-Nazi formations had been formed and was being prepared for deployment to the southern continent in order to thwart the growth of cooperation between African nations and Russia”.
The source explained that London had given Kyiv instructions in July 2023 to direct Ukraine’s Security Service and the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR) to “provide maximum and prompt assistance to representatives of the British intelligence MI6 and SAS special unit in the selection of 100 fighters from the Ukrainian national formations with significant combat experience on the ‘eastern front'” fighting against Russian troops”.
The source emphasized that “sabotage of African countries’ infrastructure as well as the elimination of African leaders inclined toward cooperation with Russia” will be two of the Ukrainian task force’s main goals in Africa.
During the second half of August, the source continued, “A chartered civilian ship from the [Ukrainian] port of Izmail will transfer the task force to the Sudanese city of Omdurman,” mentioning Lt. Col. The commander of the Ukrainian sabotage unit Vitaliy Prashchuk.
Read more: The Russia/Ukraine War may cause more food shortages across Africa
Prashchuk, a native of the Vinnytsia Region, led a sabotage and reconnaissance group that had several “successful liquidations” on its dark report card while fighting pro-Russian forces in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in 2014–2016.
From 2015 to 2017, he was a member of the intelligence division of the 73rd Ukrainian Marine Special Operations Center. Additionally, Prashchuk took part in joint intelligence operations in Zimbabwe that were conducted by Ukrainian and British intelligence agencies.
After receiving his release in 2019, he entered politics, joining Volodymyr Zelensky’s “Servant of the People” party, which helped him win a seat in the Ukrainian parliament.
Prashchuk was a reserve officer in the military-intelligence division of Kyiv forces in February 2022, at the start of Russia’s special military operation in Donbas.
A senior US diplomat suggested a military intervention if pro-Russian coupist in Niger didn’t reverse the power shift and restore the country’s Western-backed president.
Acting Deputy US Secretary of State Victoria Nuland warned them against following neighboring Mali in inviting Russian military advisers to the country and attributing them to the Wagner paramilitary group during a secret visit to the West African nation earlier this month for discussions with coup leaders.
The military chiefs who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 were present.
“The people who have taken this action here understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited in,” asserted Nuland, who is well-known for her hawkish anti-Russian statements.
France had previously colonized Mali and Niger. However, Paris reportedly continues to treat the two African countries as its colonies, pillaging their natural resources and leaving them destitute.
