Mali’s spat with Kyiv: Is the Russia-Ukraine war spilling over into Africa?

Bamako has cut ties with Kyiv, accusing it of complicity in an attack that killed Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner troops.

A row between unlikely sparring partners. This week, Mali announced it was severing ties with Ukraine, after accusing Kyiv of having a hand in a devastating ambush in the West African country’s northern Kidal region in late July that saw dozens of Malian soldiers killed.

Separatist Tuareg rebels who masterminded the attack claimed they had killed Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner fighters. Analysts have said if those claims are true, it might be the worst defeat for the mercenary group since it first deployed in 2021 to help military government-led Mali fight a swarm of armed groups operating across the country.

The diplomatic spat started last week after a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military spy agency revealed cryptically that the rebels had the “necessary information” to execute the July attack. Though he fell short of announcing Kyiv’s full complicity, his remarks triggered fears that the Russia-Ukraine war could be spilling over into African territory.

Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, Mali’s government spokesperson, said on Sunday that his country was “deeply shocked” to hear the claims. Ukraine had “violated Malian sovereignty” by aiding the “cowardly, treacherous, and barbaric attack”, he added.

Kyiv has rushed to backtrack the initial boast. In a statement on Monday, the country’s foreign ministry called Bamako’s decision to cut ties “hasty”. Mali took action “without conducting a thorough study of the facts and circumstances of the incident … and without providing any evidence of Ukraine’s involvement in the said event”, the statement read.