On July 1, an open-source investigations account posted a satellite image taken on June 16 of the port of the Baltiysk Naval Base, located in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which lies between Poland and Lithuania. The image shows a Russian cargo ship, the Mikhail Britnev, being loaded with “armoured fighting vehicles and personnel carriers”.
This satellite photo of the Mikhail Britnev was taken on June 16, 2026. Source: X, Sonarrow
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The Mikhail Britnev is part of the fleet of Russian ships that has been under United States sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine. The ship is also on the sanctions list on the site of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a US government organisation that enforces economic and trade sanctions. The Mikhail Britnev was likely carrying cargo bound for Mali, says Hasret Kargın, Senior Researcher on Africa at Mintel World, an open-source intelligence firm. In Mali, it would be used by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) and their allies, the Africa Corps, a paramilitary organisation controlled by the Russian government that replaced Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group in Mali. "Considering the operational structure on the ground, it is likely that both actors will use the equipment,” the researcher told the FRANCE 24 Observers team. A ship traced by the Royal Navy The Mikhail Britnev left the Baltiysk port on June 18, bound for the Atlantic Ocean, according to data from the website Global Fishing Watch, which can track the ships’ position using their AIS signals (Automatic Identification System).
