Kremlin reroutes Wagner mercenaries to tighten grip on Africa and Ukraine
Former mercenaries from the Wagner Group have joined at least four Russian private military groups. By incorporating them into various units, the Kremlin aims to avoid a repeat of the rebellion that occurred in June of last year. At the same time, with the involvement of mercenaries, Russia is increasingly marking its presence in Africa at the expense of Americans.
12:41 PM EDT, April 28, 2024
Seven months after the fiery death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the audacious oligarch whose private army known as the Wagner Group led an insurrection against Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian state is establishing control of the private mercenaries and putting them to work pursuing the Kremlin’s agenda - writes the Politico website.
Prigozhin died in a plane crash in the Tver region in August of last year. Previously, he had loudly criticized how the war in Ukraine was being conducted and opposed the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. His insubordination led the Kremlin to want to subjugate the Wagnerians. Experts believe it was the attempts by the defense ministry to take over the Wagner Group that prompted Prigozhin to start an unsuccessful rebellion in June 2023.
After his death, Russia completely subjugated his mercenaries. Based on sources among American officials, Politico reports that former Wagnerians have joined at least four private military groups. This move aims to prevent a repeat of last year’s rebellion.
According to Politico's insiders, private Russian armies are carrying out special missions in Ukraine and Africa.
"They are expected to play a similarly destabilizing role on the global stage as when under the command of Prigozhin," say Politico sources.
With mercenaries in Africa, Russia is gaining increasingly strong influence there. An example of this was in Niger, where at the beginning of April, hundreds of Russian mercenaries arrived in the capital, Niamey. A few days later, the US administration announced that it was withdrawing a thousand of its troops from Niger after a decade-long presence.
Former Wagnerians are also present in another African country, Chad. This week, the Joe Biden administration announced it would also withdraw its troops from there, who were on anti-terror missions.
"The move was widely seen as another instance of Russia supplanting U.S. influence," Politico reports.
