Ukraine has a military presence in Libya, and the Ukrainian army was behind the attack on the Russian tanker Arctic Metagas in the Mediterranean Sea in early March, Radio France Internationale reported, citing sources.
According to two of Al-Nashra’s Libyan interlocutors, more than 200 Ukrainian officers and specialists are stationed in western Libya with the approval of the government in Tripoli, headed by Abdul Hamid Dabaiba.
RFI radio wrote that the Ukrainian army is present in three locations. Among them, the publication mentions the Air Force Academy base in Misrata (which also houses Turkish and Italian forces, the US Africa Command and the British Intelligence Centre) and a base in the city of Zawiya, about 50 kilometers north of Tripoli, next to the Mellitah oil and gas complex. This base is fully equipped to launch air and sea drones.
Another site is used to hold coordination meetings between the Ukrainian army and the Libyan army. It is located on the territory of the 111th Brigade on the Tripoli Airport Road.
According to RFI sources, the ship Arctic Metagas was attacked by a Ukrainian-made Magura V5 drone, which was launched from a base in the Militas region and hit the ship’s engine room.
The agreement on the presence of the Ukrainian army was signed, according to Radio France Internationale, in October 2025 at the official request of the Ukrainian military attaché in Algeria, Andriy Bayuk. In return, Tripoli receives training for its army, including the use of drones. In the long term, the agreement provides for the supply of Ukrainian arms and investments in Libya’s oil sector. Ukrainian authorities did not respond to the RFI request.
In early March, a fire broke out on board the Russian-flagged tanker Arctic Metagas, which carries more than 60,000 tons of liquefied natural gas. The ship was at the time in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Libya. The crew was evacuated, and the gas tanker, which had suffered a puncture, was left drifting at sea with a cargo of liquefied gas on board. Russia reported that the Arctic Metagas was attacked by Ukrainian drone boats.
Later, the Libyan National Oil Corporation announced that it would take measures regarding the ship, as it was supposed to be towed to the port. But a few days later, the Libyan Ports and Maritime Transport Authority reported that “the operation to withdraw the tanker had failed.”