Renew: 24/08/2023 19:52
Issued by: 24/08/2023, 19:52

London – The death of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, if confirmed, will test the mettle of the operations of thousands of mercenaries operating in Mali, Central African Republic and Libya. British public company BBC wrote it today. British newspaper The Guardian recalled that Wagner’s group’s “African empire” relied heavily on the “immoral connections” that Prigozhin and his associates had cultivated over the years.

The BBC writes that Wagner’s group has a decentralized command in Africa and provides security for several African leaders in exchange for permits to extract minerals and other strategic economic and military activities. “This group has also played a key role in spreading Russian influence through a media campaign that primarily discredits the West,” wrote the BBC.

“The scale of this operation underscores the importance of Africa to Russian foreign policy. The loyalty of Wagnerian agents on the continent will be critical to consolidating Moscow’s influence in the future,” said the BBC.

The Guardian reports that perhaps the biggest question after Wagner’s departure from Ukraine is whether the group can continue its activities in African countries in any form. “Much of Wagner’s African empire, which combines disinformation operations, illicit business interests and jobs for hire, relies on the unscrupulous connections that Prigozhin and his close associates have built over the years,” the British newspaper wrote.

“And although the Kremlin itself has recently approached military leaders in the Sahel more openly, Prigozhin has diligently cultivated personal relationships with military leaders, coup leaders and corrupt hardline politicians and businessmen,” added The Guardian.

Russian political scientist Taťjana Stanová, quoted by the DPA agency, believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin no longer needs Prigozhin. Stanová hopes that Russia will be able to defend its interests in Africa, for example, even without an influential “shepherd”.

Many media outlets and world observers remind us that before Prigozhin’s alleged death, the head of the Wagner group appeared in a video apparently taken in Africa. The crash of the private plane, which allegedly included Prigozhin, may have been a return flight from Africa to Russia, reports the Austrian newspaper Die Presse. At the same time, he pointed to the statements of investigative journalist Christo Grozev, according to which Prigozhin was in Mali, where he allegedly negotiated with agents of the Russian military intelligence GRU on the possibility of keeping mercenaries in Africa.

The AP agency wrote: “His[Prigozhin’s]mercenaries have been very active in recent years in several African countries, where they have expanded Russia’s influence and acquired mineral wealth. Some Russian media have claimed that Prigozhin may be hoping to persuade Putin to entrust him with the expansion of the project.” -these projects, although the Ministry of Defense seems keen to take over them. Others argue that he may have broken a deal with the Kremlin by trying to continue his business activities in Russia and by boasting about his exploits in Africa in a recent video.”

Britain Russia Ukraine Africa fights the Prigozhin aviation disaster