Russia has delivered military aircraft and helicopters to Mali. The Official Reception Ceremony of army aircraft chaired by Colonel Assimi Goïta took place on the morning of August 9 at the Presidential Pavilion of the Modibo Keïta-Sénou International Airport.
During this official ceremony, Mali received L-39 and Su-25 fighters as well as MI-24 and MI-8 attack helicopters from Russia. In total, 4 helicopters and 8 planes, as specified by Igor Gromyko, Russia’s ambassador to Mali, who also attended the Reception Ceremony. This delivery comes at a time when terrorist groups are operating in Mali. And military aircraft will be used to effectively fight against them to restore security in the country.
Malian Minister of Defense Colonel Sadio Camara thanked transitional President Assimi Goïta. He also expressed his appreciation for the beneficial partnership between Mali and Russia.
Russian equipment is already in use in Mali. Military-technical cooperation between these two countries resumed in 2019 under a bilateral agreement. Technical support and specialists are also provided, who are now present in Mali. Recently, Russia delivered to Mali helicopters of the MI-35, MI-171 type and many other materials, which the FAMa are already using in their operations aimed at fighting armed terrorist groups.
It should be recalled that last week, during a meeting between Vladimir Putin’s special representative for the Middle East and African countries, Mikhail Bogdanov, and the Malian ambassador to Moscow Harouna Samake, Russia confirmed its willingness to continue to provide the necessary support to Mali to help it resolve the conflict and stabilize the situation.
This new Russian delivery to Mali is another confirmation of the fruitful cooperation between the two countries. These military aircraft will strengthen the power of the Malian army and its offensive capabilities in order to eradicate the terrorist threat in Mali.
