Ukraine says Mali's decision to cut ties over attack was hasty, short-sighted

(Reuters) -Ukraine on Monday condemned Mali's decision to cut diplomatic ties as short-sighted and hasty, saying that no evidence had been provided to show Kyiv had played any role in fighting that killed Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries last month.

The West African country announced on Sunday it was immediately severing relations with Kyiv following remarks by Ukraine's military spy agency about the fighting in northern Mali in late July.

During the clashes, Tuareg rebels said they killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers. The incident appeared to be Wagner's heaviest defeat since it stepped in two years ago to help Mali's military authorities fight insurgent groups.

"It is regrettable that ... Mali decided to sever ... relations ... without conducting a thorough study of the facts and circumstances of the incident ... and without providing any evidence of Ukraine's involvement in the said event," the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement.

After the fighting, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military spy agency, said in televised remarks that Malian rebels had received the "necessary" information to conduct the attack.

The statement from Ukraine, which is battling to hold back Moscow's troops more than 29 months since Russia launched a full-scale invasion, fell short of confirming Kyiv's involvement in the incident.

Mali said it had learned "with deep shock of the subversive remarks", describing them as an admission of involvement and condemning actions that "violated the sovereignty of Mali" and equating them to supporting international terrorism.

In a statement, Ukraine's foreign ministry said Kyiv rejected the allegation of Ukrainian support for international terrorism and said it viewed the move to cut relations as unfriendly.

"Ukraine unconditionally adheres to the norms of international law, the inviolability of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries," it said.

It added that Ukraine reserved the right to take all necessary political and diplomatic measures in response.

The diplomatic spat comes as Ukraine has been trying to win over global support and in particular to broaden its appeal in the Global South.

Oleksandr Merezhko, a senior Ukrainian lawmaker who heads the parliament's foreign policy committee, predicted the rupture in relations would not have serious consequences for Ukraine or affect its ties with the Global South.

"There will be no serious consequences, as there are no established relations between Mali and Ukraine today," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Conor Humphries)