Russian ambassador to Mali says Ukraine has opened a second front in Africa

Ukraine has opened a second front in Africa because it cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield. Russian Ambassador to Mali and Niger Igor Gromyko said on December 28.

"Unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, the criminal regime of [Ukrainian President] Volodymyr Zelensky (whose term of office expired on May 20 - Ed.) has decided to open a 'second front' in Africa and is indulging in illegal armed formations against the continent's Moscow-friendly states," he said in an interview with the TASS news agency.

Gromyko noted that the Russian side understands Mali's motives for ending relations with Ukraine and that the authorities have sent a warning to countries aiding the criminal Kiev regime that their support will be seen as aiding international terrorism. The authorities also called on Africans to condemn Kiev's actions, which threaten the stability of the continent.

As the ambassador noted, the reaction followed accordingly.

Relations between Ukraine and African countries became strained in August, when the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) said that it had been assisting armed groups that attacked Malian servicemen on the border with Algeria. After that, the authorities of Mali and Niger severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine, and the Foreign Ministry of Burkina Faso condemned Kiev's support for terrorism. The same month, the three countries asked the UN Security Council to take action against Ukraine.

In November, the acting director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for new challenges and threats, Georgy Mikhno, said that the Kiev regime openly supports terrorists in Africa. According to him, Russia intends to fight this.

In the same month, the AES INFO agency, which is the official information organ of the Sahel countries, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, wrote that Ukraine supplies terrorist groups in Mali with white phosphorus ammunition, which is banned for use under international law. This information was received from one of the members of armed formations in Mali, who was captured by the armed forces of the republic, according to theGazeta.Rupiece.