MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Al-Shabaab insurgents have released a new video showing Oleynik Aleksandr, a Ukrainian national and helicopter pilot held by the group since early 2024, appealing to the Ukrainian government and the United Nations to launch talks for his release and that of fellow crew members.
The footage features Aleksandr identifying himself as the captain of a United Nations–contracted helicopter that made an emergency landing in militant-held territory in January 2024 while en route to Wisil, near Ceelbuur, in central Somalia. The aircraft was operating in support of the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), which provides logistical and aviation support to the African Union mission, the Federal Government of Somalia and UN offices across the country.
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“Please use your influence to start negotiations for our release,” Aleksandr says in the video, directing his appeal to Kyiv and UN authorities.
He recounts the incident that led to the crew’s capture: “In January 2024, while we were in the central regions of Somalia, we were faced with an emergency situation that forced us to land in territory controlled by Al-Shabaab.” The helicopter was reportedly forced down due to technical difficulties, and the pilot and other crew members have remained in Al-Shabaab custody since.
Aleksandr underscores that he was on official duty under a UN contract at the time of his capture. “I am speaking to the United Nations, as we have been carrying out our mission under its flag and in its name. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, sent us here. Today, we need protection and urgent assistance,” he says in the footage, adding that the UN bears responsibility for contractors detained while undertaking peace support operations. “I beg you not to turn a blind eye to our plight.”
Neither the United Nations nor the Ukrainian government has commented publicly on the video or signaled whether negotiations are being considered. Axadle Times could not independently verify when the footage was recorded.
The January 2024 emergency landing drew attention to ongoing risks faced by humanitarian and peace support flights operating over parts of central Somalia where Al-Shabaab maintains a presence. The group has previously seized military and civilian aircraft that crash or make forced landings in areas under its control, using such incidents to advance propaganda aims and increase leverage in dealings with Somali and international interlocutors.
The new video appears designed to increase pressure on Kyiv and the UN by positioning Aleksandr’s detention as a responsibility matter for his contracting agencies. It also highlights the vulnerability of flight crews supporting UN and African Union operations that rely on air mobility across vast, often insecure stretches of central and southern Somalia.
UNSOS flights are a lifeline for mission logistics and humanitarian access, ferrying personnel and supplies to remote airstrips and forward bases. The organization has not issued a statement on the latest footage. There has been no indication of a timeline for any talks concerning Aleksandr or other crew members reportedly held since the emergency landing.
For families of the detained and colleagues in Somalia’s aviation support network, the appeals in the video are likely to renew calls for a coordinated approach to secure the crew’s release while balancing the complex security, political and humanitarian considerations that often govern engagement with armed groups in the region.
This is a developing story.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
Monday December 15, 2025
