On July 9, the Russian cargo ship Mikhail Britnev, which is subject to United States sanctions, unloaded a shipment of military vehicles at the Port of Lomé in Togo. This marks the first known instance of Togo serving as a stopover for Russian arms shipments destined for Mali.

Satellite imagery posted on July 1 showed the Mikhail Britnev being loaded with armored fighting vehicles and personnel carriers at the Baltiysk Naval Base, a Russian enclave in Kaliningrad located between Poland and Lithuania. The ship departed Baltiysk on June 18, heading toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to data from Global Fishing Watch, which tracks vessels via AIS signals.

The shipment’s route through eastern Mali is approximately 1,842 kilometers long, twice the distance of previous routes, as measured by Google Earth. The convoy reportedly took 10 days to reach its destination, according to ORTM.

While there is no confirmed evidence that Guinean authorities denied transit of Russian military material, French news magazine Jeune Afrique reported on July 24 that Conakry expressed opposition to accepting sanctioned cargo at its ports.

Relations between Russia and Togo have recently strengthened under a Military and Technical Cooperation Agreement signed in 2025 and a Treaty on the Basis of Relations signed in Moscow in November 2025, which came into force in April 2026. Additionally, organizations such as the Africa Initiative, a Russian news agency involved in influence operations, are active in Togo.

This development highlights a new logistical pathway for Russian military support to Mali amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Sources