Striking claim regarding the ambush in Mali where dozens of Wagner militants were killed: Ukraine says 'we helped'

Wagner acknowledged on its linked Telegram channel yesterday (Monday) that the group suffered heavy losses during clashes in Mali last week.

The channel stated that Wagner and the Malian armed forces fought "fierce battles" for five days against a coalition of Tuareg separatist forces and extremist groups using heavy weapons, drones (UAVs), and suicide bombers. The channel announced that many Wagner fighters, including commander Sergey Shevchenko, were killed.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat's report citing the British newspaper The Guardian, Ukrainian Military Intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said in a statement yesterday, "The rebels received not only intelligence, but also the necessary information that enabled them to carry out a successful military operation against Russian war criminals."

US HAD IMPOSED SANCTIONS

The spokesperson did not provide information on whether Ukrainian military personnel were involved in the conflict or present in the country. He said he would not discuss the details at this time, but that there would be more information in the future.

The Malian government, which has been battling various insurgencies in the north of the country for over a decade, requested help from Wagner after a military junta seized power in 2020.

The US imposed sanctions on Wagner's leader in Mali in May of last year, accusing the group of using its operations there as a corridor for military equipment for the war in Ukraine.

The Kyiv Post newspaper published a photo yesterday showing Malian rebels holding a Ukrainian flag.

Serhiy Kuzan, Director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation in Kyiv, made the following assessment as to why Ukraine might want to target Wagner in Africa:

For Moscow, the African countries where Wagner is present are a sphere of interest that allows it to seize resources such as gold, diamonds, gas, and oil, and where the money is used to finance Russian aggression.

News Source: 12punto