Russia has deployed troops to Mali.

Russian troops were deployed to Mali to assist in the fight against terrorists and armed radicals. According to the data provided by the military source, today more than 400 Russian military personnel may be in Mali, although it was not previously reported that Russian specialists could be in Mali at all - it was only supposed to transfer specialists from one of the private military companies, however, the appearance of the latter in Mali has never been confirmed.

“Russian troops have arrived in Mali,” Malian army officials said Friday, “amid tensions with Western powers over the alleged deployment of Russian mercenaries in the country. One Malian army officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said some 400 Russian troops could operate in the Sahel state, which is trying to crush a decade-long Islamist insurgency. Another officer, who also declined to be named, said the Russian military is stationed "in several regions of Mali." The Russian presence heightens suspicions that the army-dominated government of Mali has hired mercenaries from the controversial Russian group Wagner. At the end of December, 15 Western countries condemned the alleged transfer of Wagner PMC mercenaries to Mali and in their statement accused Moscow of providing them with material support. However, the Mali government denied that any mercenaries had been sent into the country, adding that "Russian instructors" were on site to bolster the operational capabilities of the security forces. ", - reported by "France 24".

The Russian side has not yet commented on such information, however, a little earlier information appeared that three Russian military transport aircraft could move towards Mali at once.