Misrata Air Force Academy

The Misrata Air Force Academy is a Libyan military aviation facility located in Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, situated on the Mediterranean coast approximately 210 km east of Tripoli. Misrata has been a stronghold of forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) since the 2011 civil war, giving the GNU leverage over access to the academy. The facility hosts both Libyan military training and, reportedly, a range of international intelligence and military presences.

An RFI investigation published 4 April 2026 revealed that over 200 Ukrainian officers and specialists were stationed at the Misrata Air Force Academy alongside personnel from Turkey, Italy, US AFRICOM, and British intelligence. The Ukrainians, reportedly brokered by military attache General Andriy Bayuk, used the facility as a forward operating hub as part of a broader agreement that includes long-term arms deliveries and Ukrainian investment in Libya's oil sector.

The academy's emergence as a multinational intelligence hub illustrates how the Ukraine war has drawn in proxy infrastructure FAR beyond European borders. Misrata's role means NATO allies are effectively conducting operations against Russian assets from Libyan soil, a constitutional and diplomatic grey zone that no party has publicly acknowledged. The presence of AFRICOM alongside Ukrainian and European intelligence personnel marks a significant if covert expansion of the war's geographic footprint.