Niger's Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, told the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2026 that France is leading a 'perfidious' destabilization of the central Sahel with Ukraine's 'active complicity,' calling the alleged collusion 'now documented.' He said armed proxy groups directed by France, backed by Ukraine and two unnamed additional countries, were positioned near Niger's northeastern border and poised to strike military and petroleum installations, according to reporting by Benin Web TV, Tchadinfos and others.
Zeine did not identify the two additional countries he referenced. Mondafrique, an independent outlet, noted the allegations came without evidence and that Ukraine's actual presence in the Sahel remains 'of still unclear outlines,' describing a picture built from clandestine operations, private military activity and communications campaigns rather than public proof. No French government or Ukrainian UN mission response to the speech has been documented as of publication.
The speech extends a pattern established in August 2024, when Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso jointly complained to the UN Security Council, accusing Ukraine's government of supporting terrorism in the Sahel. It also ties into Niger's broader sovereignty narrative, referencing the June 2025 nationalization of the Somaïr uranium venture — in which Orano had held a 63.4% stake — from France's Orano; Niger has said it is working to restart production, though independent figures on reinvestment costs could not be confirmed.
The accusation reflects continued diplomatic alignment among Alliance of Sahel States governments against France, but represents a more prominent multilateral platform for direct rhetorical targeting of Ukraine. Without a documented policy response from Paris or Kyiv, the practical diplomatic consequences remain unclear.