Kiev is facing condemnation after officials appeared to claim credit for an ambush that killed local soldiers and Wagner contractors
Ukraine is at the center of a diplomatic storm in Africa after officials in Kiev appeared to back a recent rebel attack in Mali, which has been plagued by jihadist insurgencies for more than a decade.
Origins of the spat
Tuareg insurgents ambushed a military convoy carrying members of the Russian Wagner Group private military company and Malian soldiers late in July in the village of Tinzaouaten, located in the north of Mali, killing dozens.
Ukrainian military intelligence service (HUR) spokesperson Andrey Yusov, speaking on national TV, called the incident a “successful military operation against Russian war criminals” carried out with the “necessary information” provided to the militants by his agents. He vowed that “there will be more to come.” Kiev’s embassy in Dakar shared Yusov’s interview – now deleted – on its Facebook page, along with a caption from its ambassador Yury Pivovarov to Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, and Liberia, who said “there will certainly be other results.”
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Widespread anger
Bamako and several of its West African neighbors have denounced the remarks as Ukraine’s support for “international terrorism.” Even the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc that Mali’s military government and its allies in Burkina Faso and Niger quit in January, has said it will not tolerate “any foreign interference” that threatens the region’s peace and security.
Senegal and Burkina Faso issued separate statements on Saturday, warning Ukraine against actions aimed at destabilizing their “brotherly” neighbor Mali. Ouagadougou advised Kiev not to “fight the wrong battle and should refrain from any support” for terrorists involved in the ongoing violence in Mali, which has spread to Burkina Faso and Niger.
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Niger responded on Tuesday by breaking off diplomatic ties with Ukraine with “immediate effect” in “total solidarity with the government and people of Mali.” Mali had earlier taken a similar decision, claiming Kiev’s actions threatened Bamako’s sovereignty.
Kiev’s response
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has denied Kiev’s involvement in the incident. It said in a statement on Thursday that the accusations “are groundless and untrue.” The ministry had previously accused Mali of making a “shortsighted and hasty” decision to end relations “without providing any evidence” of Ukraine’s complicity.
Demands for legal action against Ukraine
In an interview with RIA Novosti on Wednesday, Fousseinou Ouattara, deputy chairman of Bamako’s parliamentary security and defense committee, said Mali and Niger have asked the UN Security Council to investigate allegations that Ukraine provided intelligence to the Tuareg rebels.
Ouattara reportedly questioned Ukraine’s ability to act alone in providing intelligence to armed groups, hinting that Kiev’s Western allies, including the US and France, could have assisted.
“It must have been [intelligence] that was mainly transmitted through the Americans, because they are capable of obtaining such information,” the outlet quoted him as saying.
On Thursday, Mali’s public prosecutor, Amadou Bocar Toure, announced that a judicial investigation has been launched in response to the statements made by Ukrainian officials.
The prosecutor said in a statement cited by multiple media sources, including Turkish outlet Anadolu, that the probe will “shed light on alleged acts of terrorism, complicity in their preparation, or financing.” He added that it “will make it possible to identify and integrate the perpetrators of the attack.”
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Russia’s reaction
Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of encouraging terrorist groups in African countries friendly to Moscow.
“Unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, the criminal regime of Vladimir Zelensky has opened a second front in Africa,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti.
Russia, which Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou consider a strategic security ally, has committed to helping the troubled Sahel states tackle the long-standing terrorist threats.
Washington’s advice
During a media briefing on Thursday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller urged the Sahel states not to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine, while predictably blaming the region’s security situation on Moscow’s presence.
“We always believe that diplomatic relations are important, and it’s good for countries to talk to each other and have the ability to resolve disputes and resolve issues that they have… So we would encourage those countries to continue to talk with each other,” Miller said.
“But when it comes to Russia’s presence in Africa, certainly we have seen a destabilizing presence by Russia,” he claimed.