RT | October 15, 2026

Weapons supplied to Ukraine from US military stocks have been found in the possession of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a senior Russian diplomat has said, citing markings linking them to deliveries to Kiev.

Yulia Zhdanova, head of Russia’s delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control, made the statement on Wednesday at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Forum for Security Co-operation.

Sudanese troops recovered MK19 automatic grenade launchers, M72 anti-tank weapons, and Swedish-made AT4 launchers during an operation near Bara, she said, according to TASS. “A preliminary examination of the markings revealed that these weapons were donated to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in December 2024 from US military stock,” Zhdanova said.

Sudan’s army and the RSF have been at war since April 2023, forcing millions from their homes and exposing civilians to bombardment, hunger, and widespread abuses. In June last year, Sudanese Foreign Ministry official Muhammad Al-Sirr told RT that Ukraine was supplying drones to the paramilitary forces at very low prices and helping its fighters use the technology to strike Sudanese infrastructure.

Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict followed months of tension between their commanders, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, over a planned transition to civilian rule. What began in the capital, Khartoum, as a power struggle has devastated the country, killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and pushing parts of Sudan into famine.

Regional and international peace efforts, including African Union mediation and Saudi-US talks in Jeddah, have repeatedly stalled. In September 2025, the Quad group – the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates – proposed a three-month humanitarian truce leading to a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led political transition. Burhan rejected a subsequent US-led proposal that November, arguing it would dismantle state security institutions while leaving the RSF in place. The paramilitaries said they accepted the truce.

The UAE’s involvement has deepened mistrust of mediation. Sudan’s army-backed government severed diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi in May 2025, accusing it of supporting the RSF. The UAE denies supplying weapons to the paramilitaries. Relations with Washington deteriorated further in September 2026 after the US questioned both factions’ legitimacy. Sudan rejected the remarks and called for peace efforts free from foreign dictates.

Meanwhile, rival administrations have entrenched Sudan’s divisions. Burhan’s government returned to Khartoum in January 2026 after the army recaptured the capital, having operated from Port Sudan during the fighting. In July 2025, the RSF-aligned TASIS coalition announced a rival government based in Nyala, Darfur, with Dagalo heading its governing council. The UN Security Council and African Union rejected the move.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that Western weapons supplied to Kiev are reaching armed groups in Africa through the black market. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova raised the alarm as early as 2022, warning that Stinger missiles, Javelin anti-tank systems, and grenade launchers could enter illicit trading networks worldwide.

In February, Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia addressed the issue at a Security Council meeting, where he also accused Kiev of directly supplying weapons, including drones, and training militants in the Sahel. Zhdanova previously blamed corruption in Ukraine and failures to track Western-supplied military equipment for weapons reaching terrorists and criminal groups in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso jointly appealed to the UN Security Council in August 2024, accusing Ukraine of supporting international terrorism following a deadly ambush on Malian forces near Tinzaouaten. Mali severed diplomatic ties with Kiev after Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov said rebels received information enabling the ambush.

Addressing the UN General Assembly last month, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop renewed the accusations, saying Ukraine was backing armed groups undermining his country’s territorial integrity. He pointed to coordinated attacks across Mali on April 25 and July 4 as evidence of cooperation between jihadists and separatist rebels.

Last week, AFP reported that sources within the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-led separatist rebel coalition fighting Mali’s government, acknowledged receiving Ukrainian training, including instruction in operating drones.

di Chiara Caprio

Secondo l’ultima edizione del report Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark, la certificazione italiana “Acquacoltura Sostenibile” sviluppata dalle associazioni dei produttori di pesce e molluschi insieme al Ministero dell’Agricoltura è tra le peggiori al mondo in termini di benessere animale.

L’analisi realizzata dall’Aquatic Life Institute (ALI), un’organizzazione internazionale che lavora per proteggere e migliorare il benessere degli animali acquatici, ha preso in considerazione gli attuali requisiti di benessere animale previsti in 12 schemi di certificazione nazionali o globali e in due agenzie di rating internazionali.

Tra queste, la certificazione italiana “Acquacoltura Sostenibile” ha ottenuto un punteggio complessivo pari ad appena 2,55 su un massimo di 10, classificandosi al penultimo posto tra gli schemi di certificazione e al quartultimo nella classifica completa che include le due agenzie di rating.

In particolare la certificazione italiana riconosciuta dal MASAF brilla negativamente per la totale assenza di riferimenti espliciti a un tema centrale: l’utilizzo di metodi di stordimento efficaci che garantiscano una perdita di coscienza immediata agli animali. Incluso il divieto esplicito dell’immersione dei pesci in una miscela di acqua e ghiaccio, dei bagni di ammoniaca o sale e dell’utilizzo di altri metodi di abbattimento non rispettosi del benessere animale.

A mancare sono inoltre dei requisiti che prevedano la verifica della presenza di segni di coscienza dopo lo stordimento (attraverso il monitoraggio di personale adeguatamente formato) e la riduzione al minimo dei tempi tra stordimento e macellazione. Ad essere insufficienti secondo ALI anche gli aspetti che riguardano gli arricchimenti ambientali, il trasporto e la movimentazione.

Come Essere Animali denuncia da anni, nonostante il disciplinare di certificazione validato dal Ministero dell’agricoltura nomini più volte il miglioramento del benessere animale, in tutto il documento non è presente una definizione chiara di benessere animale e mancano i requisiti di base che servirebbero per eliminare nella pratica le principali cause di sofferenza per i pesci negli allevamenti, tra cui, come già detto, l’obbligo di uno stordimento efficace prima dell’abbattimento.

Certificazioni come ASC e Friend of the sea prevedono già nei loro standard requisiti specifici sullo stordimento, mentre il disciplinare “Acquacoltura sostenibile” non ne prevede alcuno, neanche per specie come le trote, per le quali in altri paesi europei validi sistemi di stordimento sono già in uso da diversi anni.

Una certificazione che non considera almeno gli elementi prioritari di benessere animale non può essere considerata una garanzia valida di “sostenibilità”. Chiediamo quindi che il disciplinare venga modificato per includere indicazioni trasparenti e chiare su come tutelare il benessere dei pesci negli allevamenti.

Foto © Essere animali

L'articolo Perché la certificazione ‘Acquacoltura sostenibile’ è tra le peggiori al mondo per il benessere animale proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Mali’s armed forces have recaptured the northern city of Kidal following a large-scale military offensive conducted alongside Russia’s Africa Corps. It is a major development in the government’s efforts to restore state control over territory held by armed groups.

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) announced that their troops consolidated their operational deployment in Kidal on October 7, 2026, under Operation Dougoukoloko, following several days of airstrikes and coordinated air and ground operations against the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an armed group affiliated with al-Qaeda.

In a statement, the military said the operation had weakened the armed groups’ fighting capacity and disrupted their logistical networks.

“As part of the large-scale offensive conducted in the Eastern theater, under Operation DOUGOUKOLOKO, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) consolidated their operational deployment in the city of KIDAL on Wednesday, October 7, 2026,” the statement said.

The military added that the offensive followed an intense air campaign and several air-ground operations that had “neutralized several elements belonging to the FLA-JNIM terrorist coalition” and inflicted significant damage on their logistical capabilities.

According to the statement, the operation was conducted by Malian forces and their partners, referring to Russia’s Africa Corps, which has supported Mali’s military authorities in security operations.

The military said the offensive aimed to strengthen security for communities in northern Mali, ensure the free movement of people and goods, reinforce border security, and disrupt the criminal economic activities of armed groups.

“Through this operational dynamic, the FAMa continue their sovereign mission of securing the national territory and protecting civilian populations and their property against abuses by Armed Terrorist Groups,” the statement added.

A strategic city in the conflict

Kidal, long a stronghold of Tuareg separatism, has been at the center of the conflict in northern Mali since 2012. The Malian army first retook the city on November 14, 2023, after more than a decade with almost no state presence there.

That control ended in April 2026. On that day the FLA and JNIM launched near-simultaneous assaults on several cities, including the capital, Bamako, as well as Kati, Mopti, Gao and Kidal. The attacks targeted military installations and strategic sites. Defense Minister General Sadio Camara was among those killed. Malian troops and Africa Corps forces subsequently withdrew from Kidal.

For the transitional government led by General Assimi Goïta, which has made territorial sovereignty its central promise, the recapture is a major symbolic victory.

Mali’s sovereignty and regional security

The recapture comes as Mali continues to pursue a security strategy centered on strengthening its armed forces and working with external partners, particularly Russia, following the deterioration of its relations with several Western governments and the expulsion of French forces.

For the Malian government, securing Kidal is more than a military objective but also a question of national sovereignty. Control of the city would strengthen the state’s position in the north.

In its statement, the military said the operation was intended to provide lasting security for the population, protect civilian property, and restrict the activities of armed groups operating in the region.

The recapture of Kidal does not by itself resolve Mali’s broader security crisis. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) broadly continues to face security threats and destabilization campaigns from adversaries in its fight to assert sovereignty.

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