Despite Russian support, militant rebel fighters are continuing to strike significant blows against the ruling junta in Mali. The attacks expose the limitations of Russia's military power in the region.

<p>Russian backing for the ruling junta has not stopped rebel fighters striking significant blows in recent days</p><p>When Assimi Goïta, the leader of Mali’s military junta, sat down with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin last summer, it symbolised Moscow’s commanding sway over Mali at the expense of the west.</p><p>As the two men spoke, roughly 3,500 miles to the south, about 2,000 Russian troops were propping up the regime in the landlocked desert country, as part of Mosco...