2024-08-07 19:54:42
Russia has accused Ukraine of opening a “second front” in Africa by supporting “terrorist groups” – days after Russian Wagner mercenaries and the Malian army suffered heavy losses from rebels in northern Mali, AFP reported.
“Unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, the criminal regime of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to open a second front in Africa and is supporting terrorist groups in Moscow-friendly countries on the continent,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, as quoted by RIA Novosti .
The spokeswoman’s comments come more than a week after an attack in Mali that rebels say killed dozens of Wagner fighters and Malian soldiers.
Analysts are unanimous that this is the heaviest defeat suffered by the Wagner group in Africa in a single battle, according to AFP.
Following these unprecedented events, Ukrainian military intelligence officer Andrii Yusov hinted that Kiev had provided information to the rebels so they could carry out their attack.
These remarks drew the ire of the Malian authorities, who accused Yussov of “acknowledging Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, insidious and barbaric attack.” Bamako accused Kyiv of supporting international terrorism.
Mali subsequently announced on Sunday that it was severing diplomatic relations with Ukraine, followed yesterday by Niger, the other country that has moved closer to Russia after military juntas hostile to Western countries came to power, BTA reported.
Kiev expressed regret for Bamako’s “hasty” decision, saying it “absolutely adheres to the norms of international law” and “categorically rejects the accusations of the transitional government of Mali.”
In 2022, Mali’s junta broke with its long-standing alliance with France and its European partners, turning to Russia for military and political support, AFP notes.