Mali cuts ties with Ukraine amid deadly attack by Wagner forces
5:14 PM EDT, August 7, 2024
The new Malian government has ended diplomatic cooperation with Ukraine after a violent attack killed several dozen Malian soldiers and mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group. They argue that Ukraine itself admitted to playing a role in this attack. Now, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, has voiced her opinion on the matter.
Much of the information shared by Russian media and authorities is likely not true. Such reports might be elements of an information war from the Russian Federation.
The war in Ukraine continues. Russia attacked its neighboring country in February 2022. This doesn’t stop the Kremlin authorities from accusing Ukraine of attacking Moscow and other cities in Russia.
The propaganda agency TASS quotes the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. She took the opportunity to attack Ukraine following the decision by the Malian government, which announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Ukraine. This all came after Ukraine's alleged involvement in the attack on Wagner Group soldiers and Malian soldiers. Representatives of the Tuaregs from northern Mali killed over 100 enemy fighters at the end of July. For the Russians, this was the biggest defeat in Africa so far. The Tuaregs posed for pictures with the Ukrainian flag afterward.
We will continue to draw the attention of the international community, including on multilateral platforms, to the barbaric behavior of Kyiv, emphasizes Zakharova.
Absurd comments followed about a "second front" in Africa, which Ukraine is supposedly trying to open. Let’s recall that it is the Russians who have been present in Africa for years, and Wagner operatives have been accused of carrying out massacres - including in the town of Mora in Mali, where over 300 civilians were killed in 2022.
After the failed attempt to defeat Russia on the battlefield, the criminal regime of Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to open a "second front" in Africa. He and his accomplices are pampering terrorist groups in countries on the continent friendly to Moscow, says Zakharova.
She added that she understands the motives of the Malian authorities who want to sever diplomatic relations with the regime in Kyiv. The fact that Kyiv cooperates with terrorists is not surprising at all. It continues to use terrorist methods on the territory of our country, carrying out sabotage and political killings, as well as regularly shelling civilian infrastructure, Zakharova believes.
