Sudan–Ukraine relations

Sudan and Ukraine established diplomatic relations on 4 June 1992.[1] Sudan is represented through the embassy of Egypt in Ukraine.[2][3] Sudan has an embassy in Kyiv.[4]

Sudan–Ukraine relations
Map indicating locations of Sudan and Ukraine

Sudan
Ukraine

History

In 2002, Ukraine voted against a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly which was titled Situation of human rights in the Sudan. Ukraine along with Azerbaijan and Russia were the only former states of the Soviet Union to vote against the resolution.[5]

Russian Annexation of Crimea

Relations became strained in 2014 due to the fact that Sudan was one of ten countries to join the Russian Federation in voting against United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 which was condemning the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Sudan under President Omar al-Bashir remained a committed ally to the Russian Federation. In 2019, Nadir Yusuf Babiker, the Sudanese ambassador to Russia, announced recognition of Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. According to him, Sudan believes that the Crimean referendum complies with international law. The ambassador added that representatives of his country's business circles were planning to take part in the upcoming Yalta Economic Forum.[6]

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine

After the removal of President Omar al-Bashir, Sudan initially continued to remain aligned with Russia on the world stage. However, due to the internal struggles in Sudan, War in Sudan had erupted.

Russia became more aligned with Sudan's paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces. The Rapid Support Forces have been allegedly receiving help from the Wagner Group.[7][8][9] On the question of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo stated: "Russia has the right to act in the interests of its citizens and protect its people. It has the right under the constitution and under the law. The whole world must realize that it has the right to defend its people."[10] Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo known commonly as Hemedti is the leader of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces.

On September 24 2023, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese army unexpectedly met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Shannon Airport in Ireland. Zelenskyy expressed their shared intention to "intensify" cooperation between Ukraine and African countries as they talked about the security challenges brought on by Russia's invasion.[11] "We discussed our common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.[12]

Sudan has supplied Ukraine 120mm HE-843B mortar bombs (possibly purchased from Sudan by third country)[13] Multiple military planes have flown from Sudan to Rzeszów airport from March to June, allegedly with artillery shells for Ukraine[14]

On 19 September, CNN reported that it was "likely" that Ukrainian Special Operations Forces where behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against the Wagner-backed RSF near Khartoum on 8 September.[15] Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated in an interview on 23 September that he could neither deny nor confirm the involvement of Ukraine in the conflict in Sudan,[16] but said that Ukraine would punish Russian war criminals anywhere in the world.[17]

References
  1. "Legal basis of Ukraine and Sudan". Embassy of Ukraine to Arab Republic of Egypt. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. "Embassy of Ukraine to Arab Republic of Egypt". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  3. "Middle East and Africa". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. "Embassy of Sudan in Kiev, Ukraine". embassies.info.
  5. "Situation of human rights in the Sudan :: resolution /: adopted by the General Assembly". December 18, 2002 – via digitallibrary.un.org. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Крым – ваш: кто в мире признал полуостров частью России / Крым.net" [Crimea is yours: who in the world recognized the peninsula as part of Russia]. Ikrim.net. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  7. "Exclusive: Ukraine's special services 'likely' behind strikes on Wagner-backed forces in Sudan, a Ukrainian military source says". CNN. 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  8. Elbagir, Nima; Mezzofiore, Gianluca; Qiblawi, Tamara (20 April 2023). "Exclusive: Evidence emerges of Russia's Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan's army". CNN. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023. The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with missiles to aid their fight against the country's army, Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources have told CNN. The sources said the surface-to-air missiles have significantly buttressed RSF paramilitary fighters and their leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
  9. "Wagner in Sudan: What have Russian mercenaries been up to?". BBC News. 24 April 2023. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023. Its founder, Yevgeny Prighozin – who has close links to President Vladimir Putin – has said that, "Not a single Wagner PMC [private military company] fighter has been present in Sudan" for over two years. We've found no evidence that Russian mercenaries are currently inside the country. But there is evidence of Wagner's previous activities in Sudan...
  10. "Sudan says Hemetti did not support Putin's policy on Ukraine". Sudan Tribune. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  11. Mohsen, Ahmed (September 23, 2023). "Ukraine & Sudan Hold Security Talks".
  12. "Ukraine's Zelenskiy meets Sudanese leader, discusses Russian paramilitaries". September 23, 2023 – via www.reuters.com.
  13. 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker [@UAWeapons] (14 December 2022). "#Ukraine: If you thought that the most unexpected source of ammunition to Ukraine was Iran, you were wrong- we can now reveal that the Ukrainian army also received Sudanese 🇸🇩 ammunition. In this case, 120mm HE-843B mortar bombs. t.co/Ib09xJNsDZ" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  14. ""أفريكا إنتليجنس": علاقة زيلينسكي بالسودان – كيف سَلّحَت أوكرانيا نفسها في الخرطوم!!" (in Arabic). 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  15. Butenko, Victoria; Elbagir, Nima; Mezzofiore, Gianluca; Qiblawi, Tamara; Goodwin, Allegra; Carey, Andrew; Munsi, Pallabi; Zene, Mahamat Tahir; Arvanitidis, Barbara; Platt, Alex; Baron, Mark; Lauren, Kent. "Exclusive: Ukraine's special services 'likely' behind strikes on Wagner-backed forces in Sudan, a Ukrainian military source says". CNN. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  16. Altman, Howard (2023-09-22). "Exclusive Interview With Ukraine's Spy Boss From His D.C. Hotel Room". The War Zone. Retrieved 2023-09-24. TWZ: (...) Were you guys involved with the attack on a Wagner-backed militia in Sudan? CNN reported that Ukrainians were likely involved in the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forces with FPV drones. KB: I will only say the following: About two to three months ago I was giving an interview to one of the media, I don't remember which specific one. I answered them back then that anywhere across the world we will be seeking and hunting down Russian military criminals, and sooner or later that time will come whenever they are. That is why we shouldn't be surprised when in any territory, something happens to Russian military criminals. Then speaking about your specific question about Sudan, regretfully I cannot confirm or deny.
  17. Fenert, Abbey (2023-09-24). "Budanov responds to CNN reports about Ukrainian drone strikes in Sudan". The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.