Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have partnered with Russia’s Roscosmos for surveillance and telecom satellites. This deal has the potential to boost national security for Sahelian states while also stre

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have announced a new partnership with Russia to acquire telecoms and remote-sensing satellites. The three West African countries, run by military juntas, have been struggling to defeat Islamist insurgencies for years and have turned to Russia for military support.

In September 2023, the three nations established the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual defense pact aimed at addressing shared security threats.

The partnership between Russia’s space agency and the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger deepens these countries’ turn toward the Kremlin in their effort to fight off Islamist insurgencies.