(Reuters) – Ukraine on Monday denied any involvement in northern Mali fighting that led to the death of Malian soldiers and Wagner fighters in July, describing Mali’s decision to sever diplomatic ties over the incident as “short-sighted and hasty”.
On Sunday, Mali announced it was cutting diplomatic ties with Ukraine, reacting to comments made by Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency that Malian rebels had received the “necessary” information to conduct the attack.
Yusov did not directly confirm Kyiv’s involvement in the conflict in the comments, published on public broadcaster Suspilne’s website on July 29.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Monday expressed regret over the decision made by Mali’s transitional government, saying that it was done without a thorough study of the incident’s facts and circumstances.
“Ukraine unconditionally adheres to the norms of international law, the inviolability of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries,” it said in a statement.
Ukraine reserves the right to take all necessary political and diplomatic measures in response to Mali’s actions, it said.
Mali’s northern Tuareg rebels said they killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers over days of fierce fighting in the north of the West African country in what appears to be Wagner’s heaviest defeat since it stepped in two years ago to help Mali’s military authorities fight insurgent groups.
Mali said Yusov had “admitted Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups that resulted in the death of members of the Malian Defence and Security Forces.”
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Conor Humphries)
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