Two Russian soldiers who spent more than two years in terrorist captivity in Mali have described to RT the extreme heat, constant shackling, poor food, and barely drinkable water they endured at the hands of Islamist militants.

Aleksandr Efremov and Vasily Nagalev spoke exclusively to RT’s Daria Vaganova after being brought to Libya on their way home to Russia.

The servicemen were captured in 2024 during the battle of Tinzaouaten near the Algerian border, when militants from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM ambushed a Malian military convoy supported by Russia’s Wagner Group. The Malian and Wagner forces were heavily outnumbered in the fighting.

Efremov and Nagalev spent a total of 755 days in captivity, isolated from civilization and keeping track of time by counting sunrises and sunsets. They said the reality of captivity was nothing like what is typically portrayed in films.

“In movies, you can usually escape, but here there’s nowhere to run because there’s nothing but Sahara everywhere,” Aleksandr said, describing their ordeal as essentially “Sahara and chains.”

The soldiers said their legs were constantly shackled as they endured extreme heat and survived on poor food and barely drinkable water. After about a year, hope of being rescued began to fade.

“There was hope for about the first year, but by the second year, it didn’t matter anymore whether we’d be released or not,” Aleksandr recalled. “There were moments so tense that we practically begged to be shot.”

Their release was secured through negotiations involving the Russian Defense Ministry’s Africa Corps and the Malian General Staff, mediated by forces of the Libyan National Army led by General Saddam Haftar.

A Russian medical specialist treating the men after their release said the food they had received was “extremely detrimental to their bodies,” while they had been “practically drinking from a puddle.”

“They have problems with their intestines, liver, and other organs,” he said, adding that doctors were “gradually restoring them” to health. Both men are currently in “stable and satisfactory” condition and could return to Russia within “a week or two” once their condition has fully stabilized.

Efremov and Nagalev told RT they intend to continue serving in the Russian military after recovering and plan to join Moscow’s military operation against Kiev.

The Sahel has been plagued by militant violence for more than a decade, with groups linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram carrying out attacks across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and neighboring countries. Moscow has repeatedly accused foreign powers, including Ukraine, of seeking to destabilize the region and undermine local nations’ ties with Russia by assisting extremist groups.

The freed soldiers said their captors appeared to be receiving substantial outside support.

“They certainly receive money because they have everything,” Vasily said.

“They have money, equipment, weapons. They have it all. And in large quantities,” Aleksandr added.

The Wagner Group, with which the two men previously served, has since ended its operations in Mali, with Russia’s Africa Corps taking over its role in supporting Sahel governments in their fight against militants and extremists.

In mid-July, Malian and Russian forces recaptured the strategic northern town of Anefis from FLA and JNIM after more than a week of intense fighting. In mid-August, Russian troops also helped the Malian military repel a large-scale attack on an army base in the central city of San.