According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Tuareg fighters in the West African country are using Ukrainian drones and “discreet but determined” support from Kiev in the fight against the Malian army and mercenaries from the Russian Wagner Group, who are fighting alongside the army, Reuters noted.
“Ukraine strongly rejects the accusations recently published by the international media about the alleged involvement of our state in the supply of drones in Mali,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
Mali, where the military seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for years, with heavy fighting against Tuareg rebels taking place near Mali’s border with Algeria. In August, Mali broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to statements by Ukrainian officials that the rebels had received all the “necessary” information to carry out attacks in which dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries were allegedly killed in northern Mali.
Russia, which in recent years has stepped up efforts to gain influence in Africa, including Mali, has accused Ukraine of opening “second fronts” against Russia by supporting rebels in African states friendly to Moscow. Moscow has been waging a devastating war against Ukraine since February 2022, in which thousands of people, the overwhelming majority of them Ukrainians, have lost their lives, Reuters reminded.
