The statement stressed that the Malian government “took note with deep surprise of the subversive statements” in which the intelligence chief UkrainyAndriy Yusof “admitted Ukraine's involvement” in the attack by “armed terrorist groups” that led to the death of representatives Malian army.
On Thursday, Tuareg representatives from northern Mali reported that on July 25 and 26, in the battle for Tinzaouaten, a town near the border with Algeriakilled 84 Russian mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers. For the Russians, it was Africa's biggest defeat so far. After defeating several dozen Russians from the “Wagner” group, the Tuareg rebels they took a picture with the Ukrainian flagreported Ukrayinska Pravda.
Mali. Military Junta Breaks Relations with Ukraine
On the same day, at the initiative of the Malian side, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop, who informed after the conversation on Platform X that Mali and Russia will take up the joint fight against “sponsors of terrorism”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Malian government accuses Ukraine of supporting “terrorism in Africa, especially in Mali”, violating the country's sovereignty“aggression against Mali”, “violations of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations” and decides “terminate with immediate effect diplomatic relations between the Republic of Mali and Ukraine.”
Mali’s military leaders seized power in two coups in 2020 and 2021. promising to regain control over the entire country torn apart in the north by the Tuareg people fighting to establish their own state and oppressed by jihadists linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The junta has broken its traditional alliance with France and invited mercenaries from Russia.