Russian veterans who participated in the war against Ukraine are among dozens of Wagner mercenaries believed to have been killed in a battle with Tuareg rebels in Mali in July, Reuters reported on Sept. 11, citing interviews with relatives and social media analysis.
Heavy fighting broke out on the outskirts of the village of Tinzawaten in late July, with anti-government coalition fighters reporting that they destroyed "the entire column of the Malian army and Russian mercenaries."
The Wagner mercenary group, founded by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been particularly active in Mali and has been accused of perpetrating war crimes and widespread looting.
Reuters identified 23 missing Wagner soldiers and two others who were captured by Tuareg fighters.
Some of them took part in the occupation of Bakhmut, a Ukrainian town in Donetsk Oblast that saw months-long fierce fighting and was captured by Russia in May 2023. The U.S. estimated Russia's casualties in Bakhmut at 100,000 soldiers.
Other Wagner mercenaries fought in Syria and Libya, Reuters reported. Some were former Russian soldiers, at least one of whom had retired after a full-time army career.
The news agency referred to footage of the killed Russian soldiers circulating online. Some relatives told the news outlet that the bodies of their husbands and sons were abandoned in the desert. The journalists could not verify how many were killed in the battle.
Officials and experts suggested in comments to Reuters that the defeat in Mali raises doubts about whether Moscow will do better than Western and U.N. troops recently expelled by the junta.
In late July, Wagner Group affiliates confirmed that the mercenaries suffered significant losses in the clashes.
Mali broke diplomatic ties with Ukraine over its alleged support of Tuareg-led rebels without providing any evidence of direct cooperation. The step was taken after comments by Andrii Yusov, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) spokesperson, about the rebels receiving "useful information, and not just that, which allowed them to carry out a successful military operation against Russian war criminals."
Elsa Court
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