Ukraine denies involvement in Mali attack, says cutting ties 'short-sighted'

KYIV,  Ukraine 

Ukraine on Monday August 5 criticized Mali's decision to sever diplomatic ties, calling it short-sighted and hasty. Kyiv stated that no evidence had been provided to implicate Ukraine in the fighting that resulted in the deaths of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries last month.

The West African nation announced on Sunday it was immediately ending relations with Ukraine following comments from Ukraine's military spy agency regarding the late July clashes in northern Mali.

Tuareg rebels claimed responsibility for the incident, reporting they had killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers. This incident appears to be Wagner's most significant defeat since they began assisting Mali's military authorities against insurgent groups two years ago.

"It is regrettable that Mali decided to sever relations without thoroughly examining the facts and circumstances of the incident and without providing any evidence of Ukraine's involvement," the Ukrainian foreign ministry stated.

Following the clashes, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military spy agency, mentioned on television that Malian rebels had received the "necessary" information to carry out the attack.

Ukraine, which has been fending off Russian troops for over 29 months since Russia's full-scale invasion, did not confirm its involvement in the incident in its statement.

Mali expressed "deep shock" over the "subversive remarks," interpreting them as an admission of involvement. Mali condemned these actions as violations of its sovereignty and equated them to supporting international terrorism.

Over the weekend, Senegalese authorities summoned Ukraine’s ambassador, Yurii Pyvovarov, accusing him of supporting the attack in a since-deleted video posted on the Ukrainian embassy’s Facebook account.

The accusations against Kyiv come at a time of fraying relations between the West and coup-affected Sahel nations. Following military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years, the juntas have expelled French and U.S forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance.