Following Mali, Niger cuts diplomatic ties with Ukraine amid the accusations that the country is allegedly aiding African terrorists in northeastern Mali, African media report.
Niger announced the immediate severance of diplomatic relations with Ukraine because of the actions of its security services in Mali, military government spokesman Amadou Abdramane stated.
Given the gravity of the situation and Ukraine’s recognised and alleged involvement in Mali’s aggression, the government of the Republic of Niger, in full solidarity with the government and people of Mali, takes […] the following measures: first, the immediate severance of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Niger and Ukraine; second, an appeal to the UN Security Council to adjudicate on the aggression of Ukraine and its sponsors.
The Malian authorities launched an investigation into the alleged training of terrorist groups in Africa by servicemen of the Ukrainian special services. The severing of relations between Bamako and Kyiv was announced by government spokesman and former Interim Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga, according to Senenews.
Ukrainian instructors reportedly operated on the territory of Mauritania and supported rebels who attacked soldiers of Mali and the Wagner Group. Russian assault troops from Wagner said that the group of militants from the Coordination of Azawad Movements and al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel attacked soldiers near Tinzaouaten, Mali.
Furthermore, Mali’s other neighbours also expressed discontent with Ukraine’s actions on the African continent. Earlier, the Senegalese Foreign Ministry summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Yuri Pivovarov amid accusations of supporting local terrorists. Burkina Faso called for an assessment of Kyiv’s support for militants destabilising the situation in Mali.
Ukrainian special forces in Mali
The spokesman of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, Andriy Yusov, stated that Ukrainian specialists supplied the Azawad National Liberation Movement, a military organisation operating in northern Mali, with information needed to carry out strikes against the Wagner Group and the Malian Army.
Ukrainian media published a photo of Tuareg militants involved in the ambush on the Wagner convoy in Mali posing with the Ukrainian flag. The Times also released an article claiming that HUR head Kyrylo Budanov had been plotting an attack on the Wagner in Mali since last year, according to the US National Security Agency. The photo with a Ukrainian flag partially confirms the involvement of the HUR in Mali terrorist attacks.
The Azawads have also reportedly begun installing Starlink satellite terminals in their vehicles to navigate in the desert. Media speculate that Ukrainian security services have contributed to the technological modernisation of the Tuaregs, who are now increasingly using FPV drones, a technology actively deployed in Ukraine.
Officers from naval units, mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), and the 10th detachment of the HUR are deployed in Mali as guards and escorts, according to Ukrainian media. Critics say the presence of Ukrainian troops in Mali provides another example of Kyiv’s attempt to expand waning influence in Africa.
According to sources, the Come Back Alive Foundation of the AFU began recruiting Azawad fighters in early 2024. The militants were allegedly transported via the embassy in Mauritania to Ukraine, where local instructors trained them to fight the Malian authorities. Against the backdrop of assistance to the African rebels, Mali’s neighbouring countries began to sever diplomatic relations with Kyiv, calling on the international community to address the actions of the Ukrainian authorities in the region.
Earlier reports also confirm the activities of Ukrainian instructors in Mauritania. The 25-27 July attack against the Malian Armed Forces in the Tinzaouaten area only confirms that local fighters have begun to receive foreign aid in preparing and carrying out terrorist attacks.
