The Tripoli based Ministry of Defence denied last night allowing the use of the Misrata military base, or any other western Libyan military facility, to target foreign parties or interests.
The ministry was reacting to a CNN report yesterday purporting that the western Libyan Tripoli based government had allowed Ukrainians to use its Misrata military base to target Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil vessels sailing off the Libyan coast.
It will be recalled that there were reports of Libya-based Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil tankers in December 2025 and in April this year.
Russia is a close ally of the opposition eastern Libyan regime controlled by the Hafter family. The rationale is that the western Libyan regime is allied with Russia’s enemy, Ukraine.
The Libyan government is allegedly allowing the Ukrainians to operate off its territory in exchange for training local forces, the CNN report says.
The CNN said the presence of Russian forces in Libya ‘‘is now an open secret’’.
Here is the Ministry of Defence’s statement in full:
‘‘The Ministry of Defence followed up on allegations contained in a press report regarding the use of the Misrata military base as a launching pad for carrying out military operations targeting external parties or interests.
In this regard, the Ministry of Defence categorically denies the existence of any agreement, arrangement or coordination that allows the use of the Misrata military base, or any national military facility, as a platform to launch attacks or carry out military operations of any kind outside the framework of the sovereign tasks of the Libyan state.
The Ministry also confirms that it has not granted any foreign party permission to use Libyan lands, facilities, airspace, or territorial waters to carry out hostile acts against any country or entity, and that none of the national military installations have been allocated or employed for this purpose.
The Ministry of Defence stresses that all forms of military cooperation and technical training with friendly countries are subject to approved official and legal frameworks. It also affirms its full commitment to the sovereignty of the Libyan state, and its refusal to use Libyan lands as a launching pad for actions that would endanger Libyan national security or Libya’s foreign relations.
The Ministry of Defence calls on the media to be accurate, not to present allegations based on unknown sources as proven facts, and to refer to the competent Libyan authorities to verify information related to Libyan military institutions and installations.’’