Ukraine’s foreign ministry expressed regret on Thursday over Niger’s decision to sever diplomatic ties with Kyiv, calling the move baseless and rooted in untrue allegations.
Niger’s junta announced on Tuesday that it was breaking off relations with Ukraine in solidarity with Mali. Mali had previously cut ties with Kyiv over comments by a Ukrainian military intelligence official, which were interpreted as support for rebels in northern Mali.
“It is regrettable that the authorities of Niger have decided to terminate diplomatic relations with Ukraine without conducting any investigation into the incident in Mali or providing any evidence as to the reasons for such a step,” stated the Ukrainian foreign ministry.
Tuareg rebels claimed to have killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries in July, marking a significant defeat for the group since it began supporting Mali’s military two years ago against insurgent groups.
Wagner, a private military company, played a substantial role in the war in Ukraine until last year when its forces mutinied in Russia and its leader died in an air crash a month later. Despite this, Wagner maintains operations in several African countries.
The diplomatic fallout originated from televised remarks by Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, who mentioned that Malian rebels had received the “necessary” information for their attack.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry denied any allegations of supporting “international terrorism” and criticized the accusations from Niger as groundless and detached from reality.
“The accusations against Ukraine cited in the statement by a representative of the government of (Niger) do not stand up to any criticism, are groundless and do not correspond to reality,” the statement said.
Ukraine, embroiled in intense conflict with Russia for the third year since Moscow’s full-scale invasion, is actively seeking international support, especially from the Global South.
