Niger's Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine told the UN General Assembly's 81st session that armed "proxies" directed by France, backed by Ukraine and two unnamed countries, are positioned at Niger's northeast border, poised to attack military and oil facilities. "Au moment où je vous parle, à nos frontières nord-est, se trouvent les proxies dirigés par cette France, appuyés par l'Ukraine", he said, according to multiple outlets that covered the address. He did not name the groups, identify the two other countries, or disclose supporting intelligence.
Coverage of the exact date varies: some outlets place the speech on Thursday, September 24, others on Friday the 25th, and still others on Saturday the 26th, reflecting inconsistent reporting rather than a substantive dispute over the content of the remarks. All accounts agree the address was delivered during the UN General Assembly's 81st session in New York.
Zeine linked the accusation to Niger's broader sovereignty push, framing the Sahel's conflict as a "war of liberation" against what he called a scheme of "recolonization" tied to regional uranium, gold, lithium, gas and oil deposits. He also revisited the failed 28-29 August 2026 Niamey mutiny, in which a faction calling itself the "Armed Forces for the Restoration of the Fatherland" attacked Base 101, the presidential palace and Niamey's airport before being put down with support from Russia's Africa Corps. Niger's government has previously cast that episode as a foiled destabilization plot, though its link to France or Ukraine remains an assertion rather than an independently demonstrated fact; Nigerien officials have said investigations into the mutiny's backers are ongoing.
No independent verification of French or Ukrainian involvement in any northeast Niger threat has surfaced in reporting reviewed. France's government did respond to related accusations arising from the August mutiny, dismissing Niamey's claims as "pures fantaisies," though no dated French or Ukrainian rebuttal specifically addressing this UN speech had been reported as of publication. Niger has made similar accusations against France at the UN's 79th and 80th sessions in 2024 and 2025; this marks the first time Niamey has named Ukraine at the UN podium.