Ukraine's GUR Planned Attack on 'Wagner' Forces in Mali - Media.

The head of Ukraine's GUR Defense Ministry Kyrylo Budanov has been intending since 2023 to attack 'Wagner' militants in Mali by assisting Tuareg rebels, reports The Times.

According to the publication, Mali's military junta broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to support for insurgents in the country who routed militants from the 'Wagner' group.

The Times cites documents from the US National Security Agency, according to which Ukrainian intelligence planned to attack PMC 'Wagner' militants during their international missions.

GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov stated that Ukrainian intelligence provided the rebels with 'information for conducting a successful military operation'.

It is also reported that over the past year, Ukrainian special forces have also participated in operations against 'Wagner' militants in Sudan.

Yusov added that 'you will see more of this in the future'.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the decision to break diplomatic relations with Kyiv was 'short-sighted and hasty'. They called this step 'regrettable' and stated that Mali went ahead 'without a thorough examination of the facts and circumstances... and without providing any evidence of Ukraine's involvement.'

At the end of July, Tuareg rebels from the CSP-PSD movement published information regarding the routing of a PMC 'Wagner' column in Mali. According to their data, the fighting took place on July 25 and 26 near the border with Algeria.

The losses of 'Wagner' in Mali are the largest outside of Ukraine since 2018, when up to 200 militants were killed during clashes with American forces in Syria.

On August 5, it became known that Mali's military junta had broken off diplomatic relations with Ukraine. The country's transitional government accused Kyiv of supporting Tuareg rebels in routing a column of Malian military and Russian mercenaries from PMC 'Wagner'.

Source: RBC-Ukraine