The conflict in Ukraine has largely been a Western proxy attrition war against Russia, as even notoriously pro-Western analysts will admit — and as Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself has. Kyiv, heavily reliant on Western arms and financial transfers, has acted as the forward line of a larger geostrategic confrontation. Yet, the conflict’s spillover is no longer confined to Europe. Reports increasingly point to its shadowy operations in Africa, where it has allegedly assisted separatists and possibly even terrorist-designated groups. This raises the question: is Ukraine overreaching?

In yet another underreported development, Moscow has recently claimed that Kyiv is using its embassies to support armed groups not only in Mali, but also in Sudan (a claim echoed by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry), plus the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and even supplying drones to Libya. Ukraine, predictably enough, dismisses these allegations. Jenny Mathers (an Aberystwyth University’s Senior lecturer in international politics), in a more cautious register, notes that the country is “struggling to challenge Russia” in the African continent, even as it expands its diplomatic footprint.

The evidence is not merely speculative. Back in October 2024, Le Monde Afrique reported that Ukrainian drones had provided support for northern Mali’s rebels, including Tuareg separatists, in their clashes with Bamako and Wagner forces. Kyiv itself boasted about backing Tuareg fighters after they ambushed Russian forces in the summer of 2024, which in itself........

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