Putin's Wagner Group mercenaries got thrashed in the African desert — and Ukraine says it helped

• Ukraine says it aided rebels in Mali to defeat Russian Wagner Group mercenaries.
• The battle shows a new front for Ukraine in countering Russia — this time, in Africa.

Ukraine's defense intelligence claimed a role in a recent battle in Africa — where separatist rebels destroyed a detachment of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries fighting overseas.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate said on a TV broadcast on Monday that the rebels got "necessary information" from Ukraine to win the battle, the Kyiv Post reported. He did not give further details.

The paper published a photograph of Malian separatist forces holding up a Ukrainian flag, an apparent expression of solidarity with the country.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify the image.

The apparent involvement of Ukrainian intelligence in the battle suggests a new dimension in its efforts to counter Russia.

Razgruzka Vagnera, a social media channel closely linked to the Wagner Group, on Monday admitted major losses in a week-long battle with separatist forces and a Jihadi group near the town of Tinzaouaten, in eastern Mali.

Wagners fought alongside Malian armed forces, the channel said.

The channel said Wagner forces, alongside Malian fighters, initially saw off the attack before a sandstorm developed and allowed the rebel forces to regroup with greater numbers.

They attacked the mercenaries once again with heavy weapons, drones and suicide vehicles, the channel said.

The last message sent from the Wagner Group's forces said there were just three left fighting, the channel said.

It's unclear how many people were killed, with estimates ranging between 20 and 50, the BBC reported.

The battle killed Wagner Group commander Sergei Shevchenko, Razguzra Vagnera said.

The independent Russian Telegram channel Astra also reported that the popular Russian propagandist Nikita Fedyanin was killed.

BI was unable to independently verify the reports.

Fedyanin has more than half a million followers on his pro-Russian GREY ZONE Telegram channel, which shares updates on Wagner activities.

The channel has not posted since July 23, when it shared an image of Wagner Group soldiers in what it said was one of the countries of the African Sahel — which includes Mali.

Photos circulating online appear to show killed and captured Wagner soldiers. BI was also unable to verify those images.

The separatist group that claimed responsibility for the attack is the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development, or CSP-PSD, the BBC reported.

The al-Qaida-affiliated Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin also claimed responsibility, per the BBC.

The CSP-PSD opposes Mali's junta, which has been propped up by the Wagner Group for several years.

The junta leader, Colonel Assimi Goïta, deposed the country's elected president in 2020.

Since then, Goïta and his supporters have routinely postponed promised elections, cementing his power with the "apparent intent to maintain military government indefinitely," as the Pentagon-funded Africa Center for Strategic Studies put it.

ACSS says that the junta brought in around 1,000 Wagner troops, at a cost of an estimated $10.9 million a month. The relationship with Wagner has continued even after the death last year of the group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

African military leaders like Goïta can "simply cannot survive without Moscow's support," the ACSS wrote.

The battle is a single flashpoint amid vast Wagner Group-led Russian influence operations across Africa.

The ACSS has mapped Russian disinformation campaigns in 25 African countries, including Mali, and has long tracked the Wagner Group's activities there.

"In Mali, Wagner is linked to more than 320 incidents of human rights abuses and hundreds of civilian deaths," as of last year, it wrote.