This incident has led to a diplomatic rift between Mali and Ukraine.
Mali's interim government has cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, citing Ukraine's alleged support for Tuareg rebels and involvement in a recent deadly attack on a military convoy.
The convoy, carrying Malian forces and Russian Wagner Group contractors, was ambushed by Tuareg insurgents near the Algerian border in Tinzaouaten last month, resulting in the deaths of Malian soldiers and Russian contractors.
This incident has led to a diplomatic rift between Mali and Ukraine.
Scores of servicemen were killed and multiple trucks were destroyed by the militants.
According to RT, following the attack, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence service (GUR), Andrey Yusov, stated on Ukrainian TV that his agents assisted the rebels with “necessary information, and not just information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals,” and vowed that “there will be more to come.”
Ukraine’s embassy in Dakar posted the interview on its Facebook page, along with a comment from Ambassador Yury Pivovarov, who said, “there will certainly be other results.” The video has since been deleted.
In a statement released by local media on Sunday, the Malian government expressed shock over Kiev’s involvement in “a cowardly, treacherous, and barbaric attack.” It added that Pivovarov’s remarks show “his country’s support for international terrorism, particularly in Mali.”
These extremely serious statements, which have not been denied or condemned by the Ukrainian authorities, show clear official support from the Ukrainian Government for terrorism in Africa, the Sahel and more specifically in Mali.
The transitional government stated that Kiev’s actions “violate the sovereignty of Mali,” “go beyond the scope of foreign interference,” and constitute a breach of international law.
In response to “Ukraine’s acknowledged and assumed involvement in the blatant aggression against Mali,” Bamako implemented several measures, including “the immediate severance of diplomatic relations” between Mali and Ukraine, while initiating legal proceedings following the statements of Yusov and Pivovarov, which “constitute acts of terrorism and advocacy of terrorism.”
It added that precautions will be taken “to prevent any destabilisation of Mali from African states, particularly from Ukrainian embassies,” and “a formal alert” will be issued “to regional and international bodies, as well as to states supporting Ukraine, indicating that this country has openly and publicly displayed its support for terrorism.”
Mali's government has reaffirmed its neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while endorsing Moscow's warnings about the alleged "neo-Nazi and villainous nature" of Ukraine's authorities.
Mali has been grappling with a decade-long jihadist insurgency, resulting in thousands of deaths and over 375,000 displacements, according to UN estimates. Despite a failed French military intervention, the violence has spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, prompting the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States to counter terrorism.
The bloc is now seeking enhanced security cooperation with Russia to address the regional crisis.