Putins war is sweeping into

Since then they have expanded operations in the Sahel and central Africa and have now been re-branded from the name of Hitler’s favourite composer to a military unit he created in 1941, the Africa Corps. While fighting an attritional war against Russian aggression, Ukraine has been hamstrung by lily-livered restrictions on use of Western supplied munitions to go on the offensive inside Russian sovereign territory. Nevertheless Kyiv has taken the fight to the Russians wherever it can, using its own drones as well as ground forces. That has had limited effect but has diverted some Russian defensive assets away from the front as well as providing an important boost to Ukrainian morale. Meanwhile Kyiv has sought military opportunities even further afield, perhaps in an echo of Churchill’s Special Operations Executive which sent military operatives to establish a “second front” in Europe before D-Day was even a possibility. Since at least last year, Ukrainian special forces have endeavoured to damage Russian military capabilities by attacking elsewhere in the world. In May, General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said: “We conduct operations aimed at reducing Russian military potential anywhere where it’s possible”. That includes Sudan, where Russian mercenaries are supporting the rebel Rapid Support Forces which have been fighting against government troops since last spring. Moscow’s primary purpose was to secure gold supplies facilitated by the rebels to fight the war in Ukraine, circumventing Western sanctions. Working to disrupt those supplies, Ukraine has provided the