ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Ukraine on Tuesday dismissed as "unfounded and unsubstantiated" allegations by Iraq's National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi, who had accused Kyiv of "intervening" in Iraqi affairs - including by hiring small groups of individuals who allegedly carried out attacks on Iraqi territory.
"Ukraine rejects the unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations made by Qasim al-Aboudi," the foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to Kyiv's "alleged involvement in unlawful activities on Iraqi territory."
"There are no facts or evidence to support these allegations - a point the Iraqi official himself acknowledged" in the interview, the ministry added, noting that Baghdad had not raised any relevant information or concerns through diplomatic channels prior to the public remarks.
“It is unacceptable and irresponsible for a senior official of a friendly state to publicly disseminate such statements without a proper evidentiary basis," Kyiv emphasized.
In an interview with a local satellite channel on Monday, Aboudi said an Iraqi "intelligence cell" had determined that "there is Ukrainian intervention in Iraq."
"We apprehended small groups [of individuals] who carried out strikes inside Iraqi territory, targeting several facilities," the national security advisor said, without naming the facilities or providing further detail.
Aboudi added that, "following interrogations, they confessed to working on behalf of Ukraine," while noting that the matter requires further investigation before any party could be officially accused.
Notably, Ukraine on Tuesday characterized Aboudi's remarks as aligning with "Russian propaganda narratives aimed at discrediting Ukraine and undermining its relations with Middle Eastern nations,” including “the Ukrainian-Iraqi partnership.”
Kyiv further called on Baghdad to "appropriately address the spread of these baseless allegations" and "prevent state institutions from being used to amplify disinformation that serves the interests of third parties and harms bilateral relations."
This is not the first time Ukraine has accused Russia of undermining its ties with Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq.
Back in March, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, an affiliate of Kyiv's cabinet of ministers, stated that "Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Algeria, Syria, Morocco and Jordan are far from a full list of countries in the Arab world whose citizens the Russian Federation has been recruiting for the war against Ukraine."
Iraq's former national security advisor, Qasim al-Araji, confirmed in December that hundreds of Iraqis are participating in the Russia-Ukraine war, and that a government committee has been formed to help bring them back.
