Rebels in northern Mali have shot down a Russian Shahed-136 strike drone used to support Russian-linked mercenaries in the region, the first confirmed use of this type of drone in the Sahel region.
Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, said this in a comment to Suspilny.
According to him, Russia is increasingly actively transferring military technologies and tools of warfare outside Ukraine, in particular to the African continent. At the same time, dual-purpose components that continue to arrive through international markets are used to produce and modernize such UAVs.
According to preliminary data, the downed drone contained microcircuits, transistors, diodes, and relays from Chinese and European manufacturers: Mornsun, Wayon Electronics, GigaDevice, Shenzhen Codaca Electronic, and STMicroelectronics. Experts note that such an electronic base is typical for drones that Russia also uses against Ukraine.
“The story from Mali shows how quickly dual-use technologies are turning into a tool for exporting war. As long as the supply of such components to the Russian Federation is not strictly controlled, Russian UAV production will continue to scale along with the geography of their application,” Vlasyuk added.