The financial decision came after a senior Ukrainian official “admitted”, according to Bamako, to Kiev’s “involvement” in the heavy losses suffered by the Malian army and the Russian Wagner Group in battles with separatists that took place in late July.
Malian government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga announced that the transitional government in Mali has decided to “sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine with immediate effect.”
The Wagner Group said last Monday that its fighters and Malian soldiers had suffered losses during fierce fighting with Tuareg rebels near Mali’s border with Algeria.
Wagner said in a rare statement that its forces fought alongside Malian soldiers from July 22 to 27, and that its fighters near Tinzaoutine were led by Sergei Shevchenko, who goes by the code name “Bond.”
“On the first day, the (Bond Group) eliminated most of the extremists and made the rest flee,” Wagner reported on Telegram.
“But a sandstorm allowed the extremists to reorganize themselves and increase their numbers to 1,000 people,” she added, according to Reuters.
Wagner said its fighters repelled a new attack, but the heavy fire from the rebels caused casualties among the special military group and the Malian army.
Mali, where military authorities seized power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, has been facing an insurgency by militant groups for years.
It denies that Russian forces on its territory are affiliated with Wagner, saying they are trainers helping local forces use equipment purchased from Russia.
Several human rights organizations called on the international community to intervene to investigate crimes and violations that the Malian army and Wagner forces were accused of committing in the Azawad region in the north of the country.
The organizations revealed that they documented the killing of dozens of civilians during the month of July, and that dozens of women were raped by these forces, and that their belongings were stolen and their homes were destroyed.
There were reports of “intelligence” cooperation between Ukraine and the Tuareg rebels, and their training on homemade drones equipped with explosives.
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