Mali has severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine after an official in Kyiv suggested that his country had helped anti-government Tuareg rebels fight Russian Wagner mercenaries in the West African nation.
Mali's Tuareg rebels say they killed at least 84 Russian Wagner troops and 47 Malian soldiers over days of fierce battles in the north of the country, in what appears to be the Wagner group's heaviest defeat since it stepped in two years ago to help the African nation’s military authorities fight insurgents, Reuters reported.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), announced on July 29 that “the rebels received the necessary information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.”
The Kyiv Post newspaper published a photo in which rebel forces are seen holding a Ukrainian flag after winning a battle with Russian mercenaries working with the armed forces of Mali.
Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, a senior Malian official, said in a statement that Ukraine had "violated the sovereignty of Mali, exceeded the limits of foreign interference, and [that this] represented a blatant aggression against Mali." As a result, the "transitional government of Mali has decided to sever diplomatic ties with Ukraine immediately," he added.
The fighting involving Russian-Malian forces resulted not only in losses to the mercenaries but also, according to some observers, damage to Russia’s reputation.
Jakub Ber, a political analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, told TVP World: “It is a spectacular failure for Russia. Wagner mercenaries considered themselves soldiers of fortune and were… bested by sandals-clad Tuaregs.”
Mali, as well as its neighbors Chad and Niger, are rich in natural resources including uranium. In July, Mali’s junta and Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom signed cooperation deals.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), announced on July 29 that “the rebels received the necessary information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.”
The Kyiv Post newspaper published a photo in which rebel forces are seen holding a Ukrainian flag after winning a battle with Russian mercenaries working with the armed forces of Mali.
Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, a senior Malian official, said in a statement that Ukraine had "violated the sovereignty of Mali, exceeded the limits of foreign interference, and [that this] represented a blatant aggression against Mali." As a result, the "transitional government of Mali has decided to sever diplomatic ties with Ukraine immediately," he added.
The fighting involving Russian-Malian forces resulted not only in losses to the mercenaries but also, according to some observers, damage to Russia’s reputation.
Jakub Ber, a political analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, told TVP World: “It is a spectacular failure for Russia. Wagner mercenaries considered themselves soldiers of fortune and were… bested by sandals-clad Tuaregs.”
Mali, as well as its neighbors Chad and Niger, are rich in natural resources including uranium. In July, Mali’s junta and Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom signed cooperation deals.
Source: Reuters
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