On August 5, the government of Mali announced its decision to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, citing a Ukrainian official’s boastful admission that Kyiv provided Malian rebels with crucial intel for a rebel assault that killed many Russian Wagner Group mercenaries and Malian soldiers.

The northern Tuareg rebels claimed responsibility for the deaths of at least 84 mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers over three days of fighting in late July in what proved to be Wagner’s heaviest defeat since its controversial 2021 entry into the Sahel conflict on the side of the Malian government.

On July 29, Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR), told the public broadcaster Suspilne that the Malian rebels had received “all the information they needed, which allowed [them] to carry out their operation against the Russian war criminals”.

As Yusov’s statement made its way to Mali and caused immediate backlash, the Ukrainian government tried to deny playing any role whatsoever in the deadly rebel assault, but failed to convince the Malian government. Both Mali and its ally Niger, expressing “deep shock” about a friendly nation’s involvement in an attack that cost dozens of Malian lives, swiftly ended all ties with the Ukrainian government.

The rift came at a time when Kyiv is trying desperately to garner support on the global stage.

Ukraine has been engaged in an all-out war against Russia since the latter embarked on a full-scale invasion of its territory on February 24, 2022. In more than two years of the war, Russia’s aggression killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians, injured many others and made millions into refugees.

Now Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are calling on the UN Security Council to take action against Ukraine over Kiev’s support for terrorism in Africa, especially in the Sahel.