LAGOS, NIGERIA – In a targeted special operation carried out on the continent, Russia’s Africa Corps has successfully liberated two foreign nationals who were held captive for months by an al-Qaida-linked armed faction in the Sahel, the Russian Defense Ministry announced publicly this Tuesday.
The two freed individuals have been formally identified as Oleg Gret, a Russian national working for a Russian geological exploration firm, and Yuri Yurov, a Ukrainian citizen. Both hostages had first appeared in a video released by Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the terrorist group that seized them in an abduction operation in Niger back in July 2024.
According to the official statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry, the rescue mission was executed within the borders of the neighboring Republic of Mali, where the hostages were being held after their abduction. “As a result of a special operation conducted by the Africa Corps in the Republic of Mali, employees of a Russian geological exploration company captured in July 2024 in Niger by the terrorist group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin were freed,” the statement reads.
The abduction marked a notable security setback for Russia’s expanding influence across the Sahel, a region where Moscow has steadily displaced long-standing Western and European partners in recent years. Russia has strategically capitalized on widespread local discontent with France, the region’s former colonial power, and growing public anxiety over rising insurgent attacks from extremist groups to grow its military and political footprint across the Sahel.
The Africa Corps, a Russian state-aligned paramilitary formation, was established to take over Moscow’s continental military operations after the restructuring of the infamous Wagner Group, the private mercenary force that previously led Russia’s engagements across Africa.
Following the successful rescue, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the two freed hostages will be flown to Moscow aboard a Russian military transport plane, where they will receive specialized medical treatment and psychological rehabilitation to address the trauma of their months in captivity.