File photo: An Iranian Shahed exploding drone.
Ukraine has expanded its fight against Russia beyond the battlefield at home, deploying drone specialists to Africa and military teams to the Middle East to train forces fighting Russian- and Iranian-made drones, according to a CNN report. The deployments were part of Kyiv’s effort to target Russian interests wherever Moscow has established a military presence, the report said.
Ukrainian officials have previously acknowledged providing information to the Tuareg rebels, although Kyiv later denied substantial cooperation with them.
Ukraine has also deployed naval drone operators to northwestern Libya, where Ukrainian Defense Intelligence personnel have been stationed since late 2025, according to a Ukrainian intelligence source cited by CNN.
One Ukrainian drone operator in Mali told CNN that he coordinated missions remotely, receiving drone signals over the internet and directing rebel fighters by radio. The Ukrainian team was not directly involved in frontline combat, according to the report. In return for the training, Kyiv secured security cooperation agreements and promises of ammunition, the report said. One operator told the outlet that his unit used a military base in Misrata to target Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers while training local forces. “In Ukraine, it’s high intensity, massive strikes, constant pressure,” the operator said. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s former intelligence chief and now head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said in 2023 that Ukraine would seek to target Russian interests “anywhere on the face of this world” until it achieved victory.
The Russian defence ministry accused Kyiv of playing a role in the Kidal assault, alleging that Ukrainian and European instructors had trained the rebels. Ukraine has denied substantial involvement. “Here it’s more of a maneuverable war over large territories, ambushes, route control, working in small groups and depending on knowledge of the terrain.