Russia’s Africa Corps Is Training African Forces in Ukraine War-Inspired Tactics

Across various scenes filmed in desert and tropical landscapes, groups of recruits make their way through weapons drills, medical procedures, and technical exercises. The trainees are shown practicing CPR, flying drones, and maneuvering through makeshift trenches, all under the supervision of Russian military instructors.

The footage, posted to Telegram in March and April 2025, provides a rare glimpse into Russia’s growing military presence in Africa.

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The instructors belong to Africa Corps, a structure formed in September 2023 by Russia’s Defence Ministry to coordinate Russian expeditionary missions in Africa and the Middle East. One of Africa Corps’ key ambitions is to take over the Wagner Group’s footprint in Africa following the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Since 2018, Wagner personnel have been deployed across the continent, from the Central African Republic to Mali, Sudan, Mozambique, and Libya. Its operations in Africa are in decline, now confined to Mali and the Central African Republic.

In contrast, Africa Corps has expanded throughout 2024 and 2025, announcing missions in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Equatorial Guinea, while also reinforcing deployments in Libya and Mali.

Analysing and geolocating the footage

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A 21 March post by KorpusAfrica, the self-described official Russian-language Telegram channel of Africa Corps, includes images of a medical training session in Mali and a short video from Equatorial Guinea. Another post, dated 4 April, presents a montage of training scenes filmed at several different locations.

We can dissect the footage into 4 locations:

1: Al Jufra Air Base, Libya

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A short excerpt shows at least two trucks, both carrying Russian-made BM-21 “Grad” multiple rocket launcher Systems (MLRS), driving along what appears to be a runway.

The angle of the runway, as well as key features beside it, match the southern portion of Al Jufra airbase, Libya [29.182970, 16.020382]. Controlled by Khalifa Haftar of the Benghazi-based Libyan National Army (LNA), a key Russian ally, the base is a known hub for Russian military flights to other parts of Africa.

Since early 2024, thousands of Russian military personnel have been transferred to Libya, according to investigations by All Eyes on Wagner, a French open-source monitoring project. Russian military elements were reported at various LNA-controlled bases, including Al Jufra, Al Khadim, and Tobruk.

2: Mali

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Some clips appear to have been shot at undetermined locations in Mali, where Africa Corps has bolstered its presence since December 2024. In January 2025, over 100 Russian military vehicles were filmed arriving in Bamako after being unloaded at Guinea’s Port of Conakry.

Amongst the vehicles in the January delivery were several KamAZ ZSA-T “Linza” armored ambulances, a relatively recent variant based on the chassis of Typhoon-K KamAZ-53949 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle.

The same variant of Linza ambulance is clearly visible in the photos published by KorpusAfrica on 21 March. As this variant has not been exported to any other West African country, the images were highly likely shot in Mali.

One of the Russian instructors in the image is wearing a Russian “Medical Services” chevron. Versions of this patch are available for purchase online, but it doesn’t appear to be tied to a specific unit. The design surfaced around the time of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Another clip, shot from the inside of a military transport helicopter, shows a Russian soldier operating a Kalashnikov PKM machine gun. The helicopter appears to be a MIL Mi-171Sh, an export variant of the Mi-8AMTSh, likely part of a batch received by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) in 2021.

Footage of Wagner personnel using a similar Mi-8 variant in Mali was shared in September 2023 by Nikita Fedyakin, the administrator of The Grey Zone, a popular Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel.

3: Niger

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Subsequent footage, featuring Russian instructors supervising firearms and first-person view (FPV) drone training, were filmed in Niger, where Africa Corps launched a mission in April 2024.

The pattern of their uniforms suggests that the trainees likely belong to the Nigerien National Guard and Armed Forces (FAN). The footage closely resembles an earlier video published by okspn, a Russian military blogger on Telegram, which was filmed sometime in 2024 at the same location. It is possible that both videos were captured on the same occasion.

Using stills from the earlier video, which contains aerial footage, we geolocated the drills to a shooting range in southwestern Niamey [13.581001, 2.013836], near the Tondibiah military base. The facility is one of Niger’s primary basic training centers, and also houses the National Officers Training School (French: École de Formation des Forces Armées Nigériennes, or EFOFAN).

4: Equatorial Guinea

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Footage of Africa Corps training Equatorial Guinea’s military appeared in posts on both 21 March and 4 April 2025. The Equatorial Guinean flag is clearly visible on the trainees’ uniforms.

Africa Corps personnel have been present in the country since mid-October 2024. According to reporting by Reuters, citing unnamed sources, their main role is to provide protective services to Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.

As in Mali, the earlier post by KorpusAfrica highlighted Africa Corps’ involvement in medical training, showing a trainee practicing medical procedures.

The later footage included clips of Russian instructors supervising firearms drills. While we were unable to geolocate the footage, Spanish media outlet Diario Rombe reported that Africa Corps personnel have been stationed at the Inter Army Military School of General Obiang (EMIGO) in Bata [1.802222, 9.748564].

Ukraine War-Inspired Training Drills

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While Russia’s military presence in the region is no secret, the videos reveal unexpected details about the training being provided. In desert scenes likely filmed in Libya or Mali, Russian instructors guide local troops in artillery, FPV drones, drone-dropped munitions, and trench-style tactics.

FPV drones are likely to be extremely useful for reconaissance, and are regularly used by Wagner personnel in the region. The tactic of deploying drone-dropped munitions, typically referring to the use of commercial drones to drop explosive munitions, has become a staple of the conflict in Ukraine. In contrast, such methods remain uncommon in the Sahel region.

Even more surprising, one clip shows soldiers advancing through mock trenches. While trench warfare has re-emerged as a feature of the Ukrainian conflict, particularly in eastern Ukraine, it is highly unlikely to have any practical application in the Sahel.

According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), the central Sahel — encompassing Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, now operating under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — has seen continued attacks from Islamic State’s Sahel affiliate and the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) throughout 2023 and 2024. Simultaneously, northern Mali has faced a sustained insurgency led by Tuareg and Arab groups since mid-2023.

These are adversaries that favor highly mobile guerrilla tactics, ambushes, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in hard-to-reach areas. The July 2024 Battle of Tin Zaouatine, for example, saw approximately 84 Wagner personnel and 47 Malian soldiers killed in an ambush in a remote part of northern Mali.

In addition to the tactics being taught in the recent clips, some of the military hardware delivered to Mali in January 2025, such as BM-21 “Grad” MLRS, T-72B3 tanks (some of which feature anti-drone “cope cages” frequently seen in Ukraine), and D-30 howitzers, are better suited for conventional warfare.

The potential use of the Grad by FAMa and their Russian partners is of particular concern. The Grad spreads munitions over an area, not a point target, and is therefore not a precision weapon. Its repeated use in populated zones has led to significant civilian deaths and injuries, according to research by Action on Armed Violence.

In contrast, forms of artillery have been used by FAMa’s adversaries, such as JNIM, to launch indiscriminate attacks into population centers. In August 2023, for example, the city of Timbuktu was struck by mortar shelling, leading to 1 death and multiple injuries, according to a conflict-monitoring account on X.

Nevertheless, Africa Corps is presenting a markedly different public image compared to the Wagner Group, focusing on training missions rather than the combat-heavy content that dominates Wagner’s affiliated Telegram channels. The shift may represent an attempt to rebrand Russia’s military presence, distancing Africa Corps from the notoriously heavy-handed Wagner Group.

Although much of the showcased equipment is poorly suited to counter regional threats, Africa Corps’ focus on heavy weapons highlights Russia’s willingness to supply its African allies without restrictions. Sahelian leaders have long accused Western governments of offering support but holding back on offensive arms.

It remains uncertain whether Africa Corps’ recent expansion and training efforts will meaningfully address local security concerns, particularly as its predecessor, the Wagner Group, has been unable to contain escalating violence in Mali.