Ukraine’s overseas ministry mentioned on Thursday (Aug 8) Niger’s choice to chop diplomatic ties with Kyiv was “regrettable” and that Kyiv noticed the transfer as primarily based on groundless and unfaithful allegations.
Niger’s junta mentioned on Tuesday it was performing in solidarity with Mali which earlier broke off ties with Kyiv over remarks by a Ukrainian army intelligence official that it mentioned confirmed Kyiv’s assist for rebels combating in northern Mali.
“It’s regrettable that the authorities of Niger have determined to terminate diplomatic relations with Ukraine with out conducting any investigation into the incident in Mali or offering any proof as to the explanations for such a step,” the Ukrainian overseas ministry mentioned.
Tuareg rebels mentioned they killed no less than 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries throughout combating in July in what appeared the heaviest defeat for Wagner because it stepped in two years in the past to assist Mali’s army authorities battle rebel teams.
Wagner, a personal military, performed a significant position within the conflict in Ukraine till final 12 months when its forces mutinied in Russia and its chief died in an air crash a month later. It nonetheless has operations in quite a lot of African international locations.
The row stems from televised remarks by Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s army spy company, who mentioned that Malian rebels had acquired the “crucial” data to conduct their assault.
In its assertion, the Ukrainian overseas ministry mentioned Kyiv rejected any allegations of its assist for “worldwide terrorism”.
“The accusations in opposition to Ukraine cited within the assertion by a consultant of the federal government of (Niger) don’t stand as much as any criticism, are groundless and don’t correspond to actuality,” it mentioned.
Ukraine is locked in heavy combating with Russia within the third 12 months of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, and making an attempt to win over worldwide assist, particularly within the World South.
