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Mali’s transitional government has officially severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine following a deadly rebel attack that resulted in the deaths of numerous Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries.
This decision, announced on Sunday evening, marks a significant diplomatic shift for Mali, which will now consider any support for Ukraine as support for international terrorism. In response, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move as “short-sighted and hasty,” firmly denying any involvement in terrorist activities and asserting its adherence to international law and the inviolability of state borders.
The diplomatic fallout follows an ambush in northern Mali, near the village of Tinzaouatène on the Algerian border, where Tuareg rebels, reportedly aided by Ukrainian intelligence, attacked Malian forces and their Russian mercenary allies. This incident, one of the deadliest for Russian forces in West Africa, saw the loss of 84 Russian mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers. Ukrainian military intelligence representative Andriy Yusov had previously indicated that Ukraine provided the Tuareg with intelligence to combat Russian forces, and suggested more such operations could occur in Africa.
An unconfirmed photo of Tuareg fighters with a Ukrainian flag has circulated online, further fueling the controversy. Yusov’s comments on Ukrainian television about ending the monopoly of Russian private armies in Africa and empowering opposing forces have exacerbated tensions.
The Islamist GSIM terrorist group, aligned with al-Qaeda, also attacked the convoy, but it remains unclear if there was any cooperation between the Tuareg and the Islamists.
The incident has had wider regional implications. Senegal, Mali’s neighbor, summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after the embassy shared a video related to the attack, denouncing it as propaganda supporting terrorism.
In retaliation for the ambush, the Malian army, with support from Burkina Faso, conducted airstrikes targeting illegal gold miners in the region, resulting in approximately 50 deaths according to local reports.
Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop has since spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, with Moscow reaffirming its support for Mali and its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, all of which are under military rule following recent coups.
