Russia is smuggling gold out of Sudan, which allows it to finance the war in Ukraine. In the first days after the start of a full-scale invasion of a Russian aircraft, it took out about a ton of gold from Sudan, and there were 16 such flights. It is reported by CNN.

According to CNN, the Russian plane in question took off from the airport of the Sudanese capital city of Khartoumi.. The aircraft's paperwork indicated that it was carrying cookies and there were indeed many colorful boxes of cookies on board.. However, there was a much more valuable cargo underneath..

“There was a heated discussion between officials at the back office of Khartoum International Airport. They feared that the inspection of the plane irritated the country's increasingly pro-Russian military leadership.. Numerous previous attempts to intercept suspicious Russian media have been thwarted. In the end, however, officials decided to board the plane, according to a CNN article.. - Inside the hold in front of them stretched multi-colored boxes with cookies. Directly below them were hidden wooden boxes with the most valuable resource of Sudan - gold.. Approximately one ton.

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This incident occurred in February, but there were at least 16 such flights, according to the publication..

CNN journalists have researched numerous interviews with senior Sudanese and US officials and many documents related to gold smuggling out of the country.. They concluded that this was a well-thought-out Russian scheme to rob Sudan in order to replace Russia's damage from tougher Western sanctions and finance the war in Ukraine..

Evidence shows Russia colluded with Sudan's military leadership to allow billions of dollars worth of gold to be exported, bypassing the Sudanese state and depriving government revenue. In exchange, Russia has provided powerful political and military support to the increasingly unpopular Sudanese military leadership, which is brutally suppressing the country's pro-democracy movement..

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By the way, Sudan is one of the three world leaders in the production of gold..

You can read more about how Russia creates alliances with the countries of Asia and Africa for its own benefit in the article by Sergei Korsunsky “Putin Building Alliances”.