Mali severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine following comments that spokeswoman for Ukraine’s military intelligence service (GUR) made regarding fighting in its north that killed Malian soldiers and Wagner fighters in late July, the country announced on Sunday.
Mali’s northern Tuareg rebels claim to have killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers in days of fierce fighting in the West African country’s north.
The fight is likely to be Wagner’s worst defeat since it intervened two years ago to assist Mali’s military authorities in combating insurgent groups, added the same source.
GUR spokeswoman Andriy Yusov has not confirmed Kyiv’s role in the combat, but in comments published on public broadcaster Suspilne’s website on July 29, he stated that the Malian rebels had gotten the “necessary” information to carry out the offensive.
Mali expressed dismay at the provocative statements.
It reported that Yusov “admitted Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack of armed terrorist groups that resulted in the death of members of the Malian Defence and Security Forces.”
The Malian government said: “the actions taken by the Ukrainian authorities violate the sovereignty of Mali, go beyond the scope of foreign interference, which is already condemnable in itself, and constitute a clear aggression against Mali and support for international terrorism.”
After two days of conflict in Mali’s border with Algeria, Mali’s Northern Tuareg rebel group, known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD), announced on July 29 that it had killed and injured dozens of Mali and Wagner mercenary soldiers.
The rebel group also claimed it had destroyed a helicopter that crashed in the village of Kidal, hundreds of kilometers distant.
The Malian army stated that two troops were killed and ten were injured. One of its helicopters crashed near Kidal on Friday while on a regular operation, but no one was harmed, the army said.
The Baza Telegram news channel, which has ties to Russia’s security organizations, stated that at least 20 Wagner fighters had been killed.
The CSP stated in another statement on Sunday that it had engaged and destroyed a Malian army battalion that Wagner backs.
It stated that the enemy had been “annihilated” and that the few troops and mercenaries who had survived the conflict had been captured.
Mali, whose military forces took control in coups in 2020 and 2021, is fighting a long-running Islamist insurgency.
Russian troops in the area are not Wagner mercenaries, but rather trainers assisting local troops with Russian-purchased equipment, according to Baza.
Baza’s report on Sunday stated that Wagner fighters had been in Mali since at least 2021.
The Tuareg are a Berber nomadic group who live in the Sahara, including sections of northern Mali. Many of them feel sidelined of the Malian administration.