Russian fighter jet crashed, Malian President talks to Putin, flight permits still tough (upate) – eyes straight ahead!

In a plane accident in Gao, the Malian army lost a Russian fighter plane it had received only two months ago. Irrespective of this incident, the Malian interim president agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on closer cooperation between the two countries. The flight movements of the Bundeswehr in the UN mission in Mali currently appear to be secured, even if the approval process continues to be slow.

updated: According to the Malian armed forces, a Russian Su-25 fighter jet, NATO designation, crashed frogfoot, on (today) Tuesday in Gao in northern Mali. The majority of the German contingent of the UN mission MINUSMA is also stationed in Gao.

The Bundeswehr confirmed a jet accident not far from the German camp Castor near Gao, but initially gave no information on the type of aircraft. German soldiers also helped fight the fire after the crash, said a spokesman for the Operations Command.

After the withdrawal of French forces from Gao in August, the Malian army had the encampment of the French anti-terrorist operation (ended in Mali). Barkhane accepted. According to observations by the Bundeswehr, the Malian armed forces also stationed aircraft there together with Russian soldiers, which they had only taken over from Russia at the beginning of August (photo above). Since Mali has few trained pilots, the downed Su-25 was most likely flown by a Russian pilot.

Apparently independently of this, the Malian interim president Colonel Assimi Goïta also telephoned Putin on Tuesday. According to the Kremlin:

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Interim President of the Republic of Mali Assimi Goita, at the initiative of the Malian side.
The discussion covered topical issues concerning further development of bilateral relations, including trade and economic ties.
The leaders pointed out the importance of Russia’s initiative to donate to the countries in need about 300,000 tonnes of fertilisers blocked in European ports as a result of illegitimate sanctions.
They reaffirmed their mutual intention to further strengthen Russian-Malian cooperation in security in order to eradicate terrorist groups throughout the territory of Mali.
Vladimir Putin invited Assimi Goita to attend the second Russia-Africa summit scheduled to take place in St Petersburg in the summer of 2023.
The parties agreed to continue their contacts.

In the meantime, the German Armed Forces in Gao have largely obtained the necessary permits for rescue and transport flights by the German MINUSMA contingent. The spokesman for the operational command said that medical evacuation with civilian aircraft and thus the rescue chain for wounded soldiers was guaranteed. Supply flights with civilian cargo planes are also possible. On the other hand, the approval of the Malian authorities for the next planned passenger transport with a civil airline is currently missing, but this is expected in the next few days. On the other hand, permission for transport flights with the Air Force’s A400M is still pending.

(Archive image August 9: A Su-25 fighter jet and a Mi-8 helicopter at the airport in Bamako, Mali, during the handover from Russia to the Malian armed forces – Photo Presidence Mali)