Russia used the “shaheed” for the first time in Mali

In Mali, local rebels shot down for the first time a Russian Shahed-136 strike drone, which Russia has used to support its mercenaries in Africa. The drone was found to contain foreign-made civilian electronic components.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine .

According to Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the presidential envoy for sanctions policy, the drone was shot down on Monday, May 18, in Mali. He noted that this is the first confirmed case of the use of a drone of this type in the Sahel region.

The downed aircraft was a new modification of the “KK” series, equipped with the function of air-to-air detonation of the warhead.

“Russia is increasingly actively transferring its military technologies and instruments of war to other regions – in particular, to Africa. And it does this largely at the expense of dual-use components, which continue to flow unhindered into Russian production,” Vlasyuk said.

The drone contained civilian electronics, including microcircuits, transistors, diodes, and relays that can be purchased on the open market. Component manufacturers include:

• STMicroelectronics;
• Morning sun;
• Wayon Electronics;
• GigaDevice;
• Shenzhen Codaca Electronic;
• NCR Industrial.

According to Vlasyuk, the same electronics configuration is used in drones that Russia is using in the war against Ukraine.

“Until the supply of such components to the Russian Federation is strictly controlled, Russian drone production will continue to scale along with the geography of their application,” said Vladislav Vlasyuk.

He also noted that the situation in Mali demonstrates how quickly civilian technologies are becoming a tool for exporting war.

It was previously reported that Russian mercenaries from the African Corps had abandoned a number of positions in Mali after fighting with rebels in the north of the country . The retreat from several settlements weakened the positions of government troops and changed the situation in the region.

By the way, a Russian military helicopter was shot down in Mali near the city of Gao , killing the entire crew and paratroopers on board. The preliminary cause of the crash is said to be external fire.

Recall that in Mali on April 25, armed groups carried out a series of coordinated attacks in the capital Bamako and other cities of the country . The military announced battles with militants, which indicates a sharp escalation of the security situation.

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