Ukraine

Telegraph: Ukrainian statements on aid to Tuaregs in Mali have not contributed to the growth of Kyiv's influence in Africa
The British publication Telegraph (access may be paid) writes that many African states have reacted negatively to Kiev’s statements that it helped Tuareg rebels inflict a serious defeat on Russian mercenaries in Mali.

Mali and Niger, countries ruled by military juntas that have set a course for rapprochement with Russia, then severed ties with Ukraine . But even countries with a more balanced position were unhappy: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), from which Mali and Niger (and Burkina Faso, which is similar to them in terms of regime and foreign policy) withdrew a month ago, issued a rebuke to “any attempt to drag the region into the current geopolitical standoffs.”

The Tuareg rebels are linked to jihadists and are unpopular in West Africa, Ulf Lessing, director of the Sahel programme at Germany's Adenauer Foundation, told the Telegraph. He believes Ukraine's contribution to defeating Russian mercenaries and Malian troops was not that significant.

"I have the impression that the Ukrainians simply decided to brag that they were involved in something that hit the Russian mercenaries, but in reality they didn't do much. Then they realized that taking responsibility for it was a mistake," the publication quotes Lessing as saying.

African countries resist attempts by Ukraine and the West to win them over to their side in the war with Russia. In addition to the fact that the continent is home to several of Moscow’s client states – Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic – there is also a history of colonization by Western countries, nostalgic memories of Soviet aid, and the fact that many countries feel that the West and Ukraine care less about the bloody conflicts within Africa.