NAIROBI, December 28. /TASS/. Ukraine has opened its second front in Africa, struggling to defeat Russia on the battlefield, Moscow's Ambassador to Mali and Niger Igor Gromyko told TASS.
"Unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, Vladimir Zelensky's regime has decided to open a 'second front' in Africa, supporting illegal armed formations aimed against Moscow-friendly states on the continent," the ambassador stated.
He noted that in August, Mali's transitional government announced the termination of diplomatic relations with Ukraine. This decision was prompted by statements from Andrey Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, and Ukraine's Ambassador to Senegal, Yury Pivovarov, regarding Kiev's alleged assistance to militants who attacked Malian servicemen on July 25-27 in the northern part of the country.
"We understand the motives that led the Malians to cut ties with Kiev. The fact that it cooperates with terrorists is unsurprising. In our country, it continues to employ prohibited methods - committing sabotage, political assassinations, and regularly shelling civilian infrastructure," the ambassador added.
Gromyko noted that the Malian government had warned countries supporting Kiev that such actions would be considered as aiding international terrorism. Mali also called on African nations to condemn Ukraine's subversive activities, which it claimed threatened the continent's stability. This stance resonated across the region: Senegal summoned Kiev's ambassador in Dakar to its Foreign Ministry, Burkina Faso issued negative statements on the matter, and on August 6, Niger announced its decision to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine, Gromyko recalled.
Earlier, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told TASS in an interview that terrorists, backed by Ukraine and some of Bamako's former partners, were seeking regime change in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. According to the minister, the terrorism Mali faces is artificially created and "has political goals, such as regime change." The Le Monde newspaper reported that Ukrainian specialists have been training terrorists in Mali since 2024 to confront government troops, including teaching them how to fight and make drones loaded with explosives.
Some militants traveled to Ukraine for training, while others were trained locally by Ukrainian military instructors in areas under their control in northern Mali. On August 20, the authorities of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger sent a letter to the UN Security Council chairman, strongly condemning the "official and unequivocal support by the Ukrainian government for terrorism in Africa, particularly in the Sahel." Additionally, Mali, followed by Niger, announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Kiev due to its support for terrorists.