Since 2024, Mali and its allies, Burkina Faso and Niger, have jointly accused Kiev of supporting terrorism in the region
Ukraine has deployed military specialists to Mali to train and assist armed groups fighting government forces and Russian troops, CNN reported on Saturday, citing Ukrainian soldiers and a military intelligence source.
Around 15 Ukrainian drone operators are embedded with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a predominantly Tuareg separatist group in northern Mali, according to the US outlet. The personnel reportedly provide training, operational assistance, and remote guidance rather than participating directly in frontline fighting.
“I coordinate their operations remotely. The signal from their drone comes to me over the internet, and I immediately tell them via radio what to do and where to fly,” an unnamed Ukrainian operator told CNN.
The Ukrainian specialists also reportedly helped the rebels capture the strategic northern city of Kidal earlier this year. The city was among four locations attacked on April 25 in a coordinated offensive by the FLA and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). The Russian Defense Ministry said around 12,000 attackers trained by Ukrainian and European instructors took part in the offensive in an attempt to overthrow Mali’s government.
Mali has battled an insurgency since 2012, which has now spread into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. France intervened in Mali in 2013 but withdrew its troops in 2022 after Bamako ended defense cooperation with its former colonial power. Mali has since turned to Moscow for security support, with Russia deploying troops under the Africa Corps to support counterterrorism efforts.
Suspicions of Ukrainian involvement first emerged in July 2024, when Tuareg rebels ambushed Malian troops and contractors from the private Russian military company Wagner Group near Tinzaouaten, killing dozens. Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov later said the rebels had received “necessary information” that enabled them to conduct the operation successfully, adding that “there will be a continuation.”
Mali and its Alliance of Sahel States (AES) allies, Burkina Faso and Niger, jointly accused Kiev of supporting terrorism in the region. The three West African nations filed a complaint against Ukraine with the UN Security Council in August 2024. Kiev denied involvement.
French newspaper Le Monde previously reported that Ukrainian intelligence had trained Malian separatists in Ukraine and Mali to manufacture and operate explosive drones. The Times also reported in April that Ukrainian instructors taught FLA fighters to use fiber-optic drones to “fight Russians in Mali.”
Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga told the UN General Assembly last year that Ukraine had become “one of the main suppliers of kamikaze drones to terrorist groups.”
Moscow made similar allegations after the 2024 ambush. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of opening a “second front” in Africa by aiding terrorist groups in countries friendly to Russia.
