https://video.echelon.pl/videos/watch/e94dc15a-3cc1-4aae-8bbb-6bb72eeb241a Russia has quietly built one of its biggest geopolitical success stories far from Europe, deep inside Africa’s Sahel region. As Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger turned away from France and other Western partners, Moscow stepped in through Wagner and later the Africa Corps, securing military influence and access to valuable resources. Now reports suggest the United States is considering new military action in Mali against Al-Qaeda-linked militants, raising the possibility of direct strategic competition with Russia. Is the Sahel becoming the newest front in the global rivalry between Washington and Moscow? In this episode of Eastern Express, host Jonasz Rewiński and his guest, Morten Bøås, Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, explain why events in Mali matter far beyond Africa. Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 00:05 - Sahel: The next arena of great power rivalry? 03:29 - What would a U.S. return to the region mean? 04:10 - The Sahel as Moscow’s geopolitical success story 06:08 - The Wagner Group’s operations in Africa 08:11 - Interview with Morten Bøås, Professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs 10:05 - Russia’s growing presence in the Sahel 12:17 - Does Europe still have influence in the Sahel? 16:52 - Potential U.S. military intervention 19:53 - Eastern News Flash 🔴 Watch our 24/7 livestream - https://youtube.com/live/9RY46AUtIl4 Bringing you all the latest daily news and updates, TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find world news as seen from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. https://tvpworld.com/ https://www.facebook.com/tvpworldcom https://twitter.com/TVPWorld_com https://www.instagram.com/tvp_world/ https://www.threads.net/@tvp_world https://bsky.app/profile/tvpworld.bsky.social https://www.tiktok.com/@tvpworld.com https://t.me/tvp_world #Russia #Military #Africa Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:36:48 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://video.echelon.pl https://video.echelon.pl/client/assets/images/icons/icon-1500x1500.png https://video.echelon.pl/videos/watch/e94dc15a-3cc1-4aae-8bbb-6bb72eeb241a All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://video.echelon.pl/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.