Russia may sign weapons exchange agreement with Sudan – ISW

Russia may sign an agreement with the Sudanese Armed Forces for a weapons exchange to support a Russian logistics hub in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Yassir Al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, announced on 25 May that a delegation of military officials would soon travel to Russia to finalise an agreement for the exchange of "vital weapons and munitions" for the Russian logistics centre in Port Sudan. 

Al-Atta said the planned Russian centre is "not exactly a military base".

A well-known Kremlin-awarded Russian milblogger also claimed on 27 May that the Sudanese Armed Forces managed to reclaim several areas of Khartoum with the use of Iranian-made drone supplies.

Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Representative of the Russian leader for Africa and the Middle East, met with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and several other Sudanese officials during a two-day visit to Sudan on 28-29 April.

ISW has previously assessed that Russia might change its side of support in the Sudanese civil war to back the Sudanese Armed Forces and establish its naval base in the Red Sea.

ISW believes that Russian support for the Sudanese Armed Forces would greatly benefit Iran, as it would align Russian and Iranian policies and strategies in the region.

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 27 May: 

• The NATO Parliamentary Assembly called on member states to lift their prohibitions against Ukraine using Western-provided weapons to strike within Russian territory.
• Spain signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with Ukraine on 27 May.
• Ukrainian forces continued to target Russian long-range early warning radar systems and oil and gas infrastructure within Russia on 26 and 27 May.
• Russian leader Vladimir Putin reportedly told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Ukraine is not an independent state and that Russia can unilaterally and forcibly change Ukraine's borders.
• The New York Times (NYT) reported on 26 May that Western intelligence officials stated that the Russian General Staff's Main Directorate (GRU) are behind a series of low-level sabotage operations throughout Europe that aim to disrupt Western arms supplies to Ukraine and create the appearance of a European movement opposing support for Ukraine.
• Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi stated on 27 May that he signed documents that will allow French military instructors to visit training centres in Ukraine.
• The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) offered to help Armenia mitigate the effects of flooding in northern Armenia, although Armenia has not publicly requested help from Russia.
• Russian officials are considering delisting the Taliban as a prohibited organisation in Russia and will likely do so in the near term.
• Russia may sign an agreement with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) exchanging weapons for a Russian logistics hub at Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
• Ukrainian forces recently made confirmed advances near Lyptsi and Russian forces advanced near Svatove and northwest of Avdiivka.
• Russian forces continue formalisation efforts for irregular units.

Support UP or become our patron!