At the recent UN general assembly, speakers of the aligned group of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger accused Ukraine of supporting terrorism. Burkina Faso said Ukraine ”has confessed to supporting international terrorism – particularly in the Sahel” (western
sub Sahara Africa). Another speaker said that Ukraine “admitted supporting terrorism”. And further that the UN has become disrespected and powerless because they tolerate such behavior as Ukraine’s. This bit of info would be classified somewhere between disinformation and a crock of shit.
Here is the real picture. Political analysts widely classify the Mali gov as an authoritarian military regime, or junta, as of a coup 6 years ago. All political parties and public associations were suspended. The ethnic group in the North, the Tuaregs, forever marginalized, are fighting for their independence from the Mali junta composed of ethnic Bambara. After the fiasco of South Sudan, I would never suggest which group has God or justice on their side. But here are undeniable facts.
Alongside the Mali forces and against the rebels is fighting the Russian military militia called the Wagner Group. It has been written that they are a ” Russian independent military group”. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They are funded wholly by the Russian state treasury. The only thing they are independent of are the rules of command, standard punishment of soldiers, and ethical conduct on the battlefield. Where the UN has taken a dim view of the military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, Russia has stepped into the vacuum, shipping tons of free grain as well as military aid to the juntas, with an eye on Sahel resouces, especially mining.
In 2024, Ukraine said they gave intelligence to the Tuareg rebels, likely about the military of their enemy, Russia and the Wagner group, which invaded their country in 2022, and killed thousands. No one has accused them of sending troops, weapons, or ammuntion to any fighting force outside Ukraine. And the Ukrainians certainly do not consider themselves “supporters of international terrorism”.
