Ukraine has decided to open up a new front against Russia in Africa, at least according to rumors swirling about Ukrainian involvement in a deadly ambush of Russian contractors in northern Mali. The attack killed dozens of contractors and Malian soldiers and ripped a hole in the narrative that Russia’s actions in Africa have a stabilizing effect on the region.
In the days following the ambush, Malian rebels posted a photo seemingly showing them holding up a Ukrainian flag alongside their own, and subsequent reports claimed that Ukraine helped the rebels through intelligence support. This isn’t the first time there has been innuendo about Ukrainian forces operating in Africa. Last year, the Kyiv Post released footage allegedly showing Ukrainian personnel fighting alongside Sudanese government forces against the Wagner Group, which is now operating as Russia’s Africa Corps.
The headlines are flashy, but getting to the truth is more complicated. In both Mali and Sudan, the physical evidence of Ukrainian activity is vague and contested. A photo of rebels holding up a Ukrainian flag confirms little more than that they have acquired one or have the ability to doctor an image to make it seem like they have, and the nature of any intelligence-sharing by Kyiv is unclear. Similarly, the footage in Sudan didn’t positively identify personnel from Ukraine’s special operations forces or the Wagner Group, as the videos of fighting mostly showed Sudanese combatants. The same goes for the many other rumors about cooperation between Kyiv and Mali’s rebels, ranging from Ukrainians fighting in Mali as contractors to Malian rebels training in Ukraine itself.