Ukraine has deployed military personnel to several African countries in an attempt to open a “second front” against Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko has said. In an interview with TASS published on Friday, the Russian diplomat named Mali, Libya, and Sudan as countries where Ukrainian personnel have allegedly supported armed groups or carried out attacks against Russian interests. He said Ukrainian instructors, including “those trained in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles,” are embedded with Islamist militants in Mali, which has battled a jihadist insurgency for over a decade. Ukraine has been at the center of a diplomatic dispute in the Sahel since an ambush in July 2024 by Tuareg rebels killed dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian military contractors. Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov said at the time that the rebels received information that enabled the attack, although Kiev later denied supporting terrorism. Recent attacks have targeted strategic military sites across Mali and neighboring Niger, including the airport in Niamey, which also houses an airbase and the headquarters of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) joint force. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso established the force to combat the regional insurgency with Russian support under defense and counterterrorism agreements. The AES has accused foreign powers, including France and Ukraine, of supporting armed groups behind attacks across the Sahel…Read more