U.S. officials have substantiated that Russian military personnel have been deployed to the same air base in Niger as American forces. Russian presence comes amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia over support for Ukraine.
"The Russians are in a separate compound and don't have access to the U.S. forces or access to our equipment," said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. "I'm always focused on the safety and protection of our troops... But right now, I don't see a significant issue here in terms of our force protection," he added.
According to a report from the Guardian, it remains unclear when the Russian troops were deployed to the airbase in Niger. It is also unclear just how many Russian troops are on the ground.
The airbase, called Airbase 101, is located next to the Diori Hamani international airport in Niamey, the capital city.
In response to growing news of Russian troops entering Airbase 101, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia was "developing ties with various African countries in all areas, including the military one."
The influx of Russian troops comes after Niger's military officials made the decision for U.S forces to withdraw troops from the base. U.S. forces had been combating against Islamic insurgents in the region.
The U.S. has relied on Niger as its primary base for regional jihadist activity. However, U.S. and Niger's relationship have deteriorated after the country's military established control in Niger after last year's coup, which deposed the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
As a result, Niger has turned to Russia for assistance fighting Islamic extremism in the region. After the coup, Niger's ruling junta asked French forces to leave and turned to the Russian backed Wagner group for security assistance.
The presence of Russian and U.S. troops in the same operating base is a resemblance to the Cold War era between the two nations.
Washington has growing concerns for jihadists in the Sahel region. U.S. officials worry that extremists could expand their sphere of influence throughout Africa without western-led counterinsurgency.