Sydney - Middle East Times Int’l: Media sources published a report about the possibility of Ukraine’s involvement in the ongoing Sudan war. The report pointed out that last September, an unexpected meeting was held in an unusual place, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stopped at the Irish Shannon Airport on his flight back from the UN General Assembly session. United States in New York, where he met with Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.

The two leaders discussed international security issues and "threats from illegal groups funded by Russia." Zelensky's office reported that the high-profile meeting at an airport often used to refuel transatlantic flights was "unplanned," while reports later emerged that the forces The Ukrainian private sector played a major role in holding that meeting, as the sudden meeting between Zelensky and Al-Burhan paved the way for Ukraine’s involvement in Sudan.

The report added that the clashes were a direct result of a fierce power struggle within the country's military leadership: Major General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander of the armed forces and president of the country, on the one hand, and his former deputy and commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Major General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, on the other hand.

The report noted that thousands died in the conflict, millions were forced to leave their homes or flee to other countries, and the country’s economy suffered a major blow. Reports have recently begun to appear about how and why Ukraine supported the Sudanese government during these clashes.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Ukrainian soldiers helped Al-Burhan flee the capital, Khartoum, in August 2023 when the Rapid Support Forces surrounded his headquarters. 

The newspaper reported that about a hundred members of the Ukrainian special forces, led by an intelligence officer known as “Timur,” arrived in Sudan after a phone call between Al-Burhan and Zelensky.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Ukrainian contingent not only helped aid Burhan, but also changed the nature of the war in Sudan by providing marches that allowed a direct view of targets and launching night raids against the Rapid Support Forces.

In a comment to the media, Ukrainian intelligence did not confirm or deny reports of Kiev’s involvement in Sudan, and indicated that it “carries out its activities in different geographical regions, where this is necessary to protect Ukrainian national interests.” 

Reports indicated that in February, a video surfaced purporting to show Ukrainian personnel in Sudan inspecting a military vehicle that had been subjected to heavy bombardment with the body of a dead Russian soldier inside.

The car bore the insignia of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, and in another clip of the video, Ukrainian soldiers were seen interrogating captured Russian soldiers.

“What is your goal here?” a Ukrainian officer asked.

The soldier replied: “Overthrow the local government.”

It was not immediately clear when and where the video was taken in Sudan, and it could not be independently verified.

The Russian "Wagner" group was present in Sudan long before the outbreak of clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.

The first video clip of Wagner mercenaries in Sudan dates back to at least 2017.

It was said at the time that Russian mercenaries were involved in training Sudanese soldiers and there were allegations that they helped local security forces suppress protests.

After the killing of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in August 2023, Wagner units operating in Africa, including Sudan, came under the control of Russian special services.

Reports confirmed that the "Wagner" mercenaries who support the Rapid Support Forces are the main target of the Ukrainians in Sudan, according to a media analysis by Beverly Ochieng.

Ochieng adds, "The reports that have emerged about what the Ukrainian units are doing (in Sudan) seem more focused on targeting Russia than providing support to the Sudanese army in fighting the Rapid Support Forces."

The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused the Wagner Group of committing war crimes.

The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirilo Budanov, hinted that some mercenaries stationed in Sudan may have participated in the war in Ukraine.

He added: "All Russian war criminals who fought or will fight against Ukraine will be punished anywhere in the world."

Ukraine is also trying to cut off funding for Russian mercenaries in Sudan, according to Murad Batal Shishani, a member of the London-based “Notes on Political Violence” research center.

Shishani added to the media: “Hemedti has been Russia’s biggest ally in Africa, mainly to the Wagner Group. He controls gold. Reports said that in 2022, a CNN report claimed Russia’s involvement in gold mining and trade in Sudan, and that the Russians sent 16 A plane loaded with gold from Sudan to Syria.

A Ukrainian military intelligence source confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that there are plans to strike Russian gold trade in Sudan.

The defeat of Hemedti and the strengthening of Ukraine's relations with Sudan may hinder Russian plans to establish a military base in Port Sudan on the Red Sea. 

Some analysts describe what is happening in Sudan now as a “typical proxy war” – a conflict involving third countries, each pursuing its own interests.

“Hemedti is backed by the United Arab Emirates and Russia, and Burhan is steadily winning the war with financial support from Saudi Arabia and military support from Ukrainian forces,” said Glenn Howard, former president of the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based research group.

Ukraine is also trying to build an image of a country capable of threatening Russian positions anywhere, according to Nicholas A. Heras, a researcher at the Washington-based New Lines Institute.

Heras says: The arrangement between Zelensky and Burhan is based on the principle, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

He added: "This is in Ukraine's interest as a means of proving to the international community that Zelensky will confront Putin at any time and in any place, not just in Europe."

However, Ukrainian capabilities in Sudan are so far limited due to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, and Kiev can only supply its African ally with small units of special forces. On the contrary, Russia's presence in Sudan remains more tangible.

 “Russia has greater exploratory capabilities in Sudan through the Wagner Group, with battalions of fighters supported by artillery and surface-to-surface missile systems, and provides logistical supplies to the Rapid Support Forces,” Heras said.