Russian ship defies sanctions to send military vehicles to Mali

Russian and Malian troops fighting against a rebel offensive in northern Mali have been resupplied with a vast number of military vehicles that appear to have been delivered by a sanctioned cargo ship, BBC Verify has found.A large column of armoured vehicles were seen arriving in the capital Bamako in verified footage broadcast by Malian state TV on 25 July. Reporters said the convoy had travelled from Lomé port in Togo.A sanctioned Russian cargo ship, Mikhail Britnev, docked in Lomé on 9 July, according to ship tracking data reviewed by BBC Verify. Satellite images appear to show that the ship was carrying the kind of trucks, armoured personnel carriers and light infantry vehicles seen in Bamako, according to experts.Ship tracking data shows that the Mikhail Britnev left Russia's Baltiysk port on 18 June and moved through the North Sea before entering the English Channel.BBC Verify understands that the vessel was escorted through the Channel by a Russian Ropucha-class warship. The UK's Ministry of Defence declined to comment.Experts say the deliveries signify that the Kremlin is doubling down on its support for Mali's ruling junta, which has been rocked by the success of a rebel offensive led by the Jihadist group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg separatists. The advance has seized large swathes of territory in the north.The Kremlin has backed the Mali military government since French forces withdrew from the country in 2022, receiving cash payments and preferential access to mines and gold deposits in return. At first the Russian mercenary group Wagner was deployed, but its operations have since been taken over by Africa Corps, which falls under Russia's defence ministry.