DAKAR, Senegal: Mali said Sunday it was breaking diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing a senior Ukrainian official of having admitted Kyiv's role in a heavy defeat Malian troops suffered in July. Members of the Russian mercenary group Wagner were among the casualties in the defeat, which happened in late July in the north of the country and which Mali's military rulers have blamed on "separatists and jihadists".

Three days of intense fighting erupted near the Algerian border on July 25 at a military camp at Tinzaouatene. Tuareg-led separatists said on Thursday they had killed 84 fighters from Wagner and 47 Malian soldiers.

Mali will break off relations "with immediate effect", said government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga. Mali's government had been shocked to learn of remarks by Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence agency the GUR, Maiga added. Yusov had "admitted Ukraine's involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups" that had led to the deaths of Malian soldiers, Maiga's statement added.

Speaking on Ukrainian television, Yusov said the whole world was aware that the rebels "had received the necessary data that allowed them to carry out their operation against the Russian war criminals". On Saturday, Senegal summoned Ukraine's ambassador for having published the comments in what it described as a "propaganda video" on its Facebook page. Ukraine's actions had violated Malian sovereignty and constituted unacceptable foreign interference and support for international terrorism, said Maiga's statement.

In a video seen by AFP on Friday, Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga acknowledged they had lost "a battle" at Tinzaouatene. Mali's army has admitted it suffered a "large number" of deaths during the fighting but has not released figures.

This week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed his support for Bamako in a telephone call with his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop. The West African nation's military leaders who seized power in a 2020 coup have made it a priority to retake all of the country from separatists and jihadist forces linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Under Colonel Assimi Goita, the junta broke off its traditional alliance with former colonial ruler France and has turned toward Russia. — AFP