EXPLAINED: Why is Ukraine Hunting Wagner Fighters in Sudan?

On Monday Kyiv Post obtained two videos from a source in Ukraine’s security and defence sector and was told they show an ongoing operation to “clean up the Wagner PMC, their local terrorists and the Russian Federation's special services” in Sudan.

Speaking to Kyiv Post, the source added: “The footage probably shows the work of special units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR).”

He declined to give details citing security concerns. The source said the footage had been filmed “in the last two weeks”, in an unnamed Sudanese urban location.

The first video in black and white appears to have been filmed at night by a drone using infrared imaging. A small unit of men surround a compound and targets within are highlighted in the video. In one set of images, an attacker uses a hand-held rocket launcher to fire into a building window.

The second video is shot during the day, also from an aircraft hovering at 200-400 meters above the ground. No Ukrainian operatives are shown but a number of men who appear to be targets run through the streets of a densely-populated town or small village.

The Ukrainian government has neither officially acknowledged deployment of field operators to Sudan nor conduct of operations targeting Wagner fighters in the country but last month CNN reported a series of drone strikes targeting Wagner-backed rebels near Sudan’s capital were “characteristic” of Kyiv’s special forces.

Watch the video above to find out why Ukrainian forces might be operating in Africa and read the full report here.