Mali says it has severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine after a military official said Kyiv was involved in fatal fighting along the Algerian border last month.
Dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner organisation were killed in confrontations with Tuareg separatist rebels and al-Qaeda terrorists over several days.
According to Andriy Yusov, a representative for Ukrainian military intelligence, the rebels were provided with the “necessary information” to carry out the strikes last week.
A top Malian official, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, said his government was shocked to hear the claim and accused Ukraine of violating Mali’s sovereignty.
Yusov’s comments admitted Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups” that had led to the deaths of Malian soldiers, Col Maiga’s statement said.
Mali has decided to break off relations “with immediate effect”, he said.
Last week, Mali’s army admitted it had suffered “significant” losses during several days of fighting earlier that erupted on 25 July.
The clashes took place in the desert near Tinzaouaten, a north-eastern town on the border with Algeria.
Reports say the Malian and Russian forcers were ambushed by Tuareg rebels and fighters from al-Qaeda affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin while waiting for reinforcements, after retreating from Tinzaouaten.
Neither Mali’s military nor Wagner – which has since morphed into a group called the Africa Corps – have given exact figures, but the estimated death toll for Wagner fighters ranges from 20 to 80.
The Russian mercenary outfit’s losses are thought to be the heaviest it has suffered in Mali since it began helping the military government fight the insurgents two years ago.
Wagner has acknowledged that one of its commanders was killed and a Russian helicopter was downed in “fierce fighting”, saying they had been attacked by around 1,000 fighters.
On Thursday, Tuareg-led separatists claimed to have killed 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.
More than a decade ago, Mali’s central government lost control of much of the north due to a Tuareg revolt fueled by a desire for an independent state.
The presence of Islamist extremists in the fight compromised the country’s security even further.
When seizing power in coups in 2020 and 2021, the military blamed the government’s incapacity to address the unrest.
In an effort to suppress the unrest, the new junta broke off Mali’s long-standing connection with former colonial power France in favor of Russia.
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