Niger’s junta announced on Tuesday that it has severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine.
This decision comes in response to remarks from Ukrainian officials, which Niger claims indicate Ukraine’s support for groups involved in a July attack in neighboring Mali that resulted in the deaths of dozens of soldiers and Russian Wagner fighters.
The move follows Mali’s decision on Sunday to cut ties with Kyiv after Ukraine’s military spy agency commented on the northern Mali conflict. Tuareg rebels had claimed to have killed at least 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers, marking Wagner’s heaviest defeat since its involvement in Mali began two years ago.
In a televised address, junta spokesperson Abdourahamane Amadou stated that Niger’s decision was made in solidarity with Mali’s government and people, and the severance of diplomatic relations with Ukraine is effective immediately.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry was unavailable for comment due to the late hour.
On Monday, Ukraine condemned Mali’s decision as short-sighted and hasty, rejecting allegations of Ukrainian support for international terrorism.
The dispute originates from remarks by Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military spy agency, who suggested that Malian rebels had received the “necessary” information to carry out the attack.
In addition to Niger and Mali, other West African nations have also criticized comments made by Ukraine’s ambassador to Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, and Liberia. Senegal’s foreign minister summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Yurii Pyvovarov on Friday regarding a video posted on the Ukrainian embassy’s Facebook page, in which Pyvovarov expressed “unequivocal and unqualified support for the terrorist attack” in Mali.
This diplomatic spat arises as Ukraine seeks to garner global support, particularly aiming to broaden its appeal in the Global South.