WSJ: Russia is supporting other private military companies in Africa in place of disbanded Wagner Group

Journalists have found that Russia is supporting other private military companies that are gaining influence in Africa, replacing the disbanded Wagner Group.

Source: Wall Street Journal investigation

Details: The investigation showed that the private military companies (PMCs) Redut and Convoy are now operating in Africa. The former is funded by oligarch Gennady Timchenko, and the latter by Arkady Rotenberg.

The tactical coordination of the Kremlin's operations in Africa is carried out by Andrey Averyanov, a senior official in Russia’s Defence Intelligence (GRU). Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov is also responsible for this.

According to the WSJ, these two officials visited Libya, Burkina Faso, Mali and the Central African Republic in August and September as part of an official delegation. The Wagner Group had previously been present in these countries. The leader of the Redut PMC, Konstantin Mirzayants, also travelled with them.

Background:

• On 1 November, Russian media reported that the Wagner Group has become a unit of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) and has resumed recruiting soldiers in Russia, particularly in Perm and Novosibirsk.
• Earlier, it was reported that Rosgvardia was recruiting Wagner Group fighters who were formerly prisoners to subdue the remaining Wagnerites and at the same time take care of Russia's internal security.
• After the death of the mercenaries’ leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and other senior Wagnerites in a plane crash, the Kremlin began to say that the Wagner Group did not legally exist and that they could not say anything about the company's future.

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