Russia forced to rely on mercenaries posted in Africa as Ukraine battering continues
Putin has been forced to move troops from Burkina Faso to Kursk as Ukraine's forces continue to advance there.
The Ukrainian invasion of the border region of Kursk has forced the withdrawal of 100 troops from Burkina Faso in West Africa.
The soldiers are being withdrawn from the Bear Brigade - a Russian private military company that was deployed there to help Burkina Faso's military junta.
The group said on Telegram that the soldiers were heading for Kursk in Russia after Ukrainian forces seized control of large areas of the region.
French newspaper Le Monde reported that "Russian mercenaries from the Bears brigade left Burkina Faso due to the Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive in the Kursk region."
Commander of the Bears Brigade, Viktor Yermolaev, told the French outlet that the unit has "no connection with the Russian Defence Ministry."
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He added: "When the enemy arrives on our Russian territory, all Russian soldiers forget about internal problems and unite against a common enemy."
On August 6, Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into Kursk. Vladimir Putin vowed to "kick the enemy out" of the region, but so far Ukrainian troops have continued to advance.
On Friday, a geolocated Russian video shows Moscow’s forces attacking Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles north of the towns of Nechaev and Nizhnyaya Parovaya.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has continued to urge Western allies to allow his forces to use the ATACMS long-range rocket artillery to strike Russian territory.
He is also asking the UK and France to allow them to use Storm Shadow missiles for the same purpose.
Figures in Moscow have responded to this with anger.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “The West does not want to avoid escalation. The West is asking for trouble."
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharov said this would be about “turning the Kyiv regime into a terrorist organisation”, adding that it would be an “insane and suicidal escapade”.
