Three African states blame Ukraine for rebel attack on Wagner mercenaries

The Sahel states said this in a statement on X.

In the document, the foreign ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso strongly condemned the alleged open support of international terrorism by the Ukrainian government.

They also called on the Security Council to take responsibility for Ukraine's actions and prevent subversive actions that threaten regional and continental stability in Africa.

What preceded it

On July 28, in the Republic of Mali, Tuareg rebels killed and wounded dozens of mercenaries of the Russian private military company Wagner. A representative of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Andriy Yusov, noted that the Malian rebels "received the necessary information that allowed them to conduct a successful military operation against Russian war criminals." Yusov also said that similar operations would continue.

Subsequently, Mali announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing it of "supporting international terrorism" and "violating the sovereignty of the Republic of Mali." The Ukrainian diplomatic mission called the decision "short-sighted and hasty.”

On August 6, Niger announced that it was also breaking off diplomatic relations with Ukraine, also accusing Kyiv of supporting "terrorist groups."