On 19 December, several analysts incl. @Gerjon_ and @YorukIsik spotted a Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M (reg. RA-85042) of the 223rd Flight Unit leaving Libya and heading Southwest. The plane eventually landed at approx. 22:08 UTC at the Président Modibo Keïta International Airport in Bamako, Mali.
A possible passenger of that flight – Maxim Shugaley, head of the Foundation for the Protection of National Values with links to Kremlin ally Yevgeniy Prigozhin. Shugaley’s arrival in Mali (from Libya) coincides with Flight RFF413 to Bamako.
From Madagascar to Afghanistan and now Mali, a political consultant for some and a facilitator of Putin’s strategic foreign policy objectives for others, the shadowy figure travelled to Mali as an enabler of Russia’s soft power strategy.
Sources:
@Gerjon_ twitter thread – https://lnkd.in/eun8FJbj
@YorukIsik twitter thread https://lnkd.in/efSVD_Fs