Ukrainians Took Part in April Attack on Mali: Media
Ukrainians Took Part in April Attack on Mali: Media
European-looking military personnel was fighting alongside Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), citizens told local media. The attackers’ goal was to “capture Bamako,” it noted.
After the Malian army withdrew from Kidal, “the FLA fighters started smashing everything and looting. But the worst thing was that there were men in military uniforms with them who looked European. Some spoke French. Others spoke a language that sounded like Russian, but not quite. I know Russian; our partners from the Malian Armed Forces speak Russian. This was different. They were probably Ukrainians,” a local news outlet quoted one Kidal resident as saying.
Another eyewitness said he heard the word “Ukraine” several times during the offensive. He also recalled a French-speaking serviceman saying: “We failed to take the capital — what a pity.”
A third local resident stated that “the FLA and the Europeans looted everything together.” According to him, one evening he heard two men in military uniform, “probably a Frenchman and a Ukrainian,” speaking.
“One said in French: ‘If we had had more resources, Bamako would have fallen.’ The other replied in his own language, and then said in French: ‘The Ukrainians are ready’,” the witness said.
In August 2024, Mali severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine. African media have repeatedly reported on the alleged presence of Ukrainian mercenaries in the Sahel.
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