Videos purportedly show dozens of Russia's Wagner group fighters dead in Mali after battling Taureg rebels
CBSAug 03
Mali: Ukraine's Military Intelligence Claims Role in Deadly Wagner Ambush
Above: The jeep of President of the CNSP, the junta that ousted President Keita last week, surrounded by Malian special forces, arrives at the transitional talks with ECOWAS on August 24, 2020 in Bamako, Mali Image copyright: John Kalapo/Contributor/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Tuareg rebels, who killed mercenaries of the Russian Wagner Group in an ambush in northern Mali last week, received key information from Kyiv, the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GRU) said on Monday.
According to GRU spokesperson Andriy Yusov, the militants obtained "necessary information" from Ukraine’s Security Service, enabling what he called "a successful military operation against Russian war criminals."
The Spin
Pro-Russia narrative
The involvement of Ukraine's military intelligence service in the terrorist attack on Malian soldiers and Russian advisers should be an eye-opener to the whole world. While claims that Ukraine and its Western masters were backing terrorists in Mali were previously considered "Russian propaganda," Kyiv has now revealed the truth. The malign forces that seek to hit Russia at the expense of the Malians must be taught a lesson.
Anti-Russia narrative
That the rebels received crucial GRU support proves that Ukraine is holding Wagner Group war criminals accountable everywhere in the world. Moscow is only concerned with Mali's resources, with profits flowing directly into Russia's war chest. By targeting Wagner in Africa, Kyiv disrupts Moscow's shadow operations and neutralizes some of the most experienced Wagner fighters, benefitting both Ukraine and the Malian people.