🇺🇦🤝🏳️ Ukraine is fighting Russia anywhere it can – even in the deserts of Africa

Some 15 Ukrainian specialists have been deployed to Mali in Africa’s Sahel region to assist local rebel forces who are fighting Russian troops – part of Kiev’s mission to weaken its enemy wherever it operates. And Kiev has also branched out to other theaters of conflict, capitalizing on its hard-won expertise in drone warfare to forge new anti-Russian partnerships.

Speaking to Ukrainian soldiers and officers involved in operations in Mali and Libya, CNN can reveal for the first time the extent of these operations on other continents. A Ukrainian Defense Intelligence source with knowledge of the operations told CNN that several Ukrainian specialists were also stationed in Sudan and that troops from Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso had previously traveled to Mali to receive drone training from Ukrainian soldiers there.

The Ukrainian group in Mali is embedded with a separatist group that calls itself the Azawad Liberation Front and is composed mostly of northern Tuareg rebels. They are not directly involved in the frontline fighting but provide the rebels with support, training and operational help, two Ukrainians deployed there told CNN.

“I coordinate their operations remotely. The signal from their drone comes to me over the internet, and I immediately tell them via radio what to do and where to fly,” one of the Ukrainian drone operators currently in Mali told CNN.

“They go out on missions, then return to me, and we go over every detail of their actions. I don’t go out to the front lines myself — that was a direct order from my superiors,” he said.

The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence source told CNN the point of the overseas deployments is to put pressure on Russia and undermine the notion that Moscow can be a reliable ally. “We are turning our experience in the field of (drones) into a foreign policy tool,” the source said.

But he said the mission is also beneficial to the Ukrainians because it gives them a chance to test their equipment and skills in a completely different environment – and to show partners their methods work everywhere.

“Dust and heat cause equipment to fail faster. Filters, cooling, electronics protection, batteries… everything works differently (and) requires serious adaptation,” he said, adding that even the way the war is fought is vastly different.

“In Ukraine, it’s high intensity, massive strikes, constant pressure. Here it’s more of a maneuverable war over large territories, ambushes, route control, working in small groups and depending on knowledge of the terrain.”

🔗 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/12/africa/ukraine-russia-drones-mali-libya-intl

🇾🇪⚔️🇸🇦 Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from yesterday shows new damage at the Jazan Bulk Plant in southwestern Saudi Arabia, where a vertical oil storage tank appears to have been struck, likely from attacks between Sept. 9 and 11.

🔗 Egypt's Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT)

🇸🇪🗳 Sweden holds new Parliamentary elections tomorrow, September 13th.

Sweden, Infostat poll:

S-S&D: 26% (-1)
SD-ECR: 20%
M-EPP: 18%
V-LEFT: 8% (-1)
MP-G/EFA: 8%
C-RE: 7% (-1)
KD-EPP: 6%
L-RE: 5% (+2)

+/- vs. 25 August 2026 - 01 September 2026

Fieldwork: 05-11 September 2026
Sample size: 2,578

🔗 Europe Elects

🇾🇪⚔️🇾🇪 Latest Map of the Military Situation in Southwestern Yemen; 5,400 Square Kilometers Liberated

During this operation, southern Al-Hudaydah Governorate and large portions of Taiz Governorate—including the important port of Al-Mokha and the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait—came under the control of the Yemeni army and Ansarallah.

✍️ With this operation, the entire western coast of Yemen (except for a small area in northern Hajjah Governorate bordering Saudi Arabia) has come under the full control of the Yemeni army and Ansarallah after years. Sana'a's control over the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Zuqar and Hanish islands has completely turned the tide of the war in the Red Sea in favor of the Yemeni army and will have a highly significant impact on the future of the battles in Yemen. These developments will also strengthen the Sana'a government's role in regional and international affairs.

🔗 IWN

🇮🇷🤝🇦🇪 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, during his attendance at the BRICS leaders’ summit.

🔗 Clash Report (@clashreport)

🇮🇷🤝🇦🇪 Iran and UAE back joint BRICS statement urging restraint in war

Iran and the United Arab Emirates signed up to a joint statement from the BRICS group of nations that called for restraint in the Middle East war on Saturday, in what was seen as a sign of diplomatic progress between the countries divided by the war.

The two leaders discussed regional and international issues, de-escalation, stability, and efforts to advance regional peace and development, the Abu Dhabi media office said on X, without referring to any resolution to the discussions.

Summit organisers and diplomats have been focused on bridging the Iran-UAE divide, even as the United States and Iran resume tit-for-tat strikes in the six-month-old war.

🔗 https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/09/iran-and-uae-back-joint-brics-statement-urging-restraint-war

🇮🇷🤝🇴🇲 Details of the Iran-Oman agreement according to Mehr News:

Strait of Hormuz entry route is entirely within Iranian territorial waters, and a portion of the exit route is also within Iranian territorial waters.

This agreement is solely between Iran and Oman.

Other countries will only be present at the meeting to be informed of the details of the route and traffic arrangements, so that their tacit non-objection can be made clear to the international community.

Iran has put 7 conditions for the American side through intermediaries while the Strait of Hormoz will remain closed until these 7 conditions are implemented.

🔗 Arya

🇾🇪⚔️🇾🇪 ‘A f***-up of epic proportions’: Blame game begins after Iran-backed Houthis’ lightning advance down Red Sea coast

The desperate pleas for air cover from Yemeni generals started coming mid-morning on Thursday. An advance by the Iran-backed Houthis toward Yemen’s strategic port city of Mocha was in full swing, and backup support from chief ally Saudi Arabia was nowhere in sight.

“The Houthis committed everything they had – waves upon waves of fighters … along with their available ballistic missiles and weapons,” a senior Yemeni source attached to their military forces told CNN. The source said he contacted the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) and was assured the US was “watching the situation closely and that Saudi air support was coming.”

“But the air support never came,” the source said. “And Mocha has now fallen.”

Hours later, on Friday, the Houthis captured another key coastal asset, Perim Island, at the mouth of the Red Sea. The island splits the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in two, giving Tehran de facto control over another key shipping route.

The swift fall of Mocha and the lack of resistance have led to finger-pointing and recriminations among US allies.

“The failure this time is not with the Yemenis,” a regional source told CNN on Thursday. “It’s a disaster made in (Washington) DC and Riyadh.

The regional source told CNN that it was “a complete failure of political leadership” amid fierce squabbling and delayed decision-making in Riyadh.

“There was not one air strike throughout the day yesterday (by Saudi support forces), although there were minute-by-minute updates,” the regional source added. “It’s a Saudi-American f**k up of epic proportions.”

Not everyone agrees. Mohammed al-Basha, who has served as an adviser to the US government and private sector on risks emerging from the Arabian Peninsula, argues that blame also rests with Yemeni leaders, whose internal divisions jeopardized their defenses.

“This goes back to a deeper problem in the anti-Houthi coalition,” the DC-based adviser told CNN. “There is no political cohesion.”

“I think everybody was aware of the Houthis’ push towards the west coast. The writings on the wall were very clear,” he added. “There’s no united command and control in Yemen.”

Houthi fighters arrived in Mocha on Thursday to find Yemeni battalions that were severely depleted – their rosters were filled with “ghost names” receiving salaries, and the actual strength of the army was only about 20% of what it was on paper, a Western source with knowledge of the operations told CNN.

🔗 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/12/middleeast/yemen-houthi-saudi-us-blame-intl

🇾🇪❌🇸🇦 — Alerts in Abha City and Khamis Mushait Governorate, southern Saudi Arabia, have been lifted.

🇸🇦⚔️🇸🇦 Saudi-backed mercenaries in Yemen shot down a KSA (Saudi) operated Chinese CH-4B MALE UAV worth around $4 million

The mercenaries boasted on social media about their kill claiming it was operated by the Houthis even though the Houthis do not have Chinese drones in their arsenal.

@CIG_telegram

🇺🇸🕊🇮🇷 U.S. Cuts Back Air Defense for Tankers Traveling Through the Strait of Hormuz

The Financial Times reported that the U.S. is limiting the amount of air defense they will be providing to ships that are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, as attacks on commercial shipping from both sides have increased.

They said that emails sent by NCAGS (Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping) to maritime advisers, show that there will only be two time slots per day where cover will be provided.

🔗 https://unwall.app/www.ft.com/content/d4b4105e-d91f-48bb-820e-64290e916f5e?syn-25a6b1a6=1

🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🌹 Texans scream at Ted Cruz that Mamdani, Talarico, and El Sayed should all be shot.

📎 AF Post