Ukraine has deployed approximately 15 elite drone operators to Mali to train and assist the Azawad Liberation Front against Russian forces, part of a broader strategy to weaken Russia across multiple continents. Ukrainian military specialists have also been stationed in Sudan, Libya, and the Middle East, sharing drone expertise and anti-drone training in exchange for security agreements and ammunition. Russia counters Ukrainian influence in Africa's Sahel region through its Africa Corps, successor to the Wagner Group.
Anthropic reported detecting and shutting down misuse of Claude models for cyberattacks, state surveillance, weapons development, and biological research between December 2025 and August 2026. The company found that AI narrowed the gap between state-sponsored hackers and individual operators, enabling cheaper attacks and more efficient surveillance systems. Cases involved Russian espionage against Ukrainian targets, Chinese students running operations against 50 organizations, and a Mali-based consultant building a surveillance platform monitoring 25 million SIM cards.