The open confrontation between the Kremlin and the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leaves the continuity of the operations of the Russian mercenary company in the air.
Although the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, assured yesterday that Wagner will continue his activities in Mali and the Central African Republic, he said nothing about the rest of the operations of this group of soldiers of fortune, which acts mainly in Africa, but also in Syria and, of course, in Ukraine.
Lavrov stated that the work of members of the private company as “instructors” and to “guarantee the safety of their leaders” in these two countries “will continue”. “There have been many calls to President Putin to express words of support,” he said, referring to some of the presidents of countries where Wagner operates. “With partners and friends, nothing [changes]; as for the other [countries], frankly, I don’t care. Relations with the West are in tatters, so an episode or so…,” the minister trailed off.
In Mali, Wagner’s soldiers are on the front line of fire, although the Government denies this and only acknowledges that there are “Russian instructors”.
And in the Central African Republic, among other activities, a Wagner executive directs the security of President Faustin-Archange Touadera. In February, the UN office in the country accused the Central African army and members of Wagner of violating human rights, and the EU later announced new sanctions against Wagner, targeting its senior officials in the Central African Republic.
For the Western powers, Wagner is an instrument of Russian influence intended to promote Moscow’s interests in order to compete with the Europeans. The armed group is also accused of committing abuses where it is deployed and looting natural resources.
Analysts do not envisage an agreement between Prigozhin and Putin to stop the insurgency without defining the future of Wagner’s activities in third countries. The mercenary company relies heavily on the Russian Ministry of Defense, which delivers troops, equipment and weapons to its theaters of operation. And Moscow needs Wagner to control these countries, which accesses their natural resources and avoids Western influence on them. The company provides significant income because it brings “gold and minerals from Sudan, the Central African Republic and Mali, which Putin needs to keep his economy on life support,” a European military source told AFP.
However, Lavrov did not refer to Wagner’s continued presence in Syria, where mercenaries protect oil wells alongside regular Russian soldiers. Nor in the other African countries where Prigozhin’s men also operate, such as Libya, Sudan and Mozambique.
