Russian Africa Corps troops in Madagascar: official count 154, sources say 400
Journalist Yasmina Perrière questions why Russian soldiers are needed in Madagascar and what Moscow wants in return.
Russia's Africa Corps has installed military personnel in Madagascar, and the official figure is 154 soldiers, although several sources put the number at 400 or more. Independent journalist Yasmina Perrière, writing in the Madagascar Tribune, argues the deployment is part of a strategy combining economic interests, control of resources and political influence.
The official reasons given are the close protection of transition leader Michaël Randrianirina and the training of the armed forces. Perrière says these do not explain the presence, because Madagascar faces no jihadist insurgency or civil war of the kind that has drawn foreign forces into the Sahel. She notes Russia used a similar model in the Central African Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Perrière says the transition leadership came to power after a popular uprising in October 2025 that demanded democracy, and that it has not moved quickly to organise elections. In her view, the Russian protection force risks becoming a tool for keeping the current team in power, and the economic terms of the arrangement remain largely unclear.