KYIV, Aug 5 - Mali's military rulers have cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine over its alleged involvement -- which Kyiv denies -- in an attack by rebels that resulted in the killing of dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries.

Armed groups in Mali's predominantly Tuareg north said they killed at least 47 government soldiers and 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries in fighting last month near the West African country's border with Algeria.

Following the rebels' announcement, Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), told the United News Telemarathon, without confirming Kyiv's involvement, that the rebels "received all the necessary information they needed" to defeat the Russian mercenaries fighting alongside Malian troops, RFE-RL reported

In a statement, the military government in Bamako accused Ukraine of supporting terrorism and violating Mali's sovereignty.

"The actions taken by the Ukrainian authorities violate the sovereignty of Mali, go beyond the scope of foreign interference, which is already condemnable in itself, and constitute a clear aggression by Mali and support for international terrorism," the Malian government said in a statement late on August 4.

In a related development, Senegal's Foreign Ministry also summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Yuriy Pyvovarov over a post on the embassy's Facebook page in which the Ukrainian diplomat allegedly expressed support for the Tuareg in Mali.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the move by Mali's military rulers, calling it "short-sighted and hasty given that Ukraine is a victim of unprovoked full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation."

"Ukraine unconditionally adheres to the norms of international law, the inviolability of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, and resolutely rejects the accusations of the Transitional Government of Mali of alleged support of international terrorism," the ministry said in a statement on August 5, stressing that for decades Ukraine, "being one of the founders of the United Nations, actively supported the right of African peoples to independence and decolonization, including the Republic of Mali.

"Meanwhile, the Russian Federation, continuing its unprovoked full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, is destroying the architecture of international security, violating the goals and principles of the UN Charter, which in particular guarantee the right of African countries to a free future," the statement said.

"Ukraine reserves the right to take all necessary political and diplomatic measures in response to the unfriendly actions of the Transitional Government of the Republic of Mali," it said.

Mali, where military authorities seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, is battling a years-long insurgency. It has said Russian forces there are not Wagner mercenaries but trainers who are helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.

Mali's military rulers have accused Tuareg and Islamist groups of collaborating, but in its statement, the rebel groups under the umbrella of
the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD), said they had fought alone "exclusively from the beginning to the end" of the recent clashes.

The Tuareg people are a traditionally nomadic Berber ethnic group that live in parts of the western Sahara. Many have complained of being persecuted by the Malian military government. (rfe/ez)