It is midday in Défalé. Every day, a minibus bumps through the village on the National 1 road in the northeast of Togo. The Toyota Coaster stops in front of the Hotel Défalé, where about 15 soldiers shelter from the blazing sun.
The soldiers, some wearing Forces Armées Maliennes (FAMa) insignia, are Russian military instructors and technicians. They have been taking the shuttle bus every day for the past several months to travel to the Niamtougou air base, some 15km further south. There they train


