Sources close to the head of the Russian private security company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, say that he is going to reduce hostilities in Ukraine and bet on deepening his presence in Africa, Bloomberg financial information agency reports.
Citing sources close to Prigozhin who are aware of the paramilitary leader’s intentions, Bloomberg writes that the Wagner leader is viewed in Moscow as a growing threat by security and political authorities, especially given that he was banned from recruiting mercenaries from among those arrested in Russia. , its main source of military recruitment.
The latest episode of distrust of the added value of this private security company was the failure to achieve a decisive advance in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
“As the fighters struggled to advance more than a dozen kilometers towards Bakhmut, despite months of fighting, the top Russian military leadership was able to make Putin doubt Wagner’s military capabilities, arguing that the results obtained earlier are the result of the use of many military personnel … turned into prisoners, who were sent to certain death, ”writes Bloomberg.
“Prigozhin infuriates everyone, and his only defense is a personal relationship with Putin, who still finds him useful in some way,” says political consultant Tatyana Stanovaya, founder of R.Politik.
While there are still no concrete actions by Wagnerian paramilitaries in sub-Saharan Africa, sources interviewed by Bloomberg believe that Prigozhin’s attention will be more focused on the continent, especially as the situation in Ukraine becomes increasingly complex. for his troops.
In a public statement released on Monday, Wagner opened mercenary positions for six months in Ukraine and nine to 14 months in Africa, with Wagner present in Libya, Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic (and also based in Syria). with unconfirmed presence reports also in Burkina Faso and Mozambique.
Bloomberg also writes that, according to Italian intelligence reports, the increased presence of the group in North and West Africa could increase the flow of migrants to Europe.
In the words of French President Emmanuel Macron, said in February in Africa, Wagner is “the life insurance of failed regimes” and “a group of criminal mercenaries.”
The group is accused of numerous human rights violations by various international organizations, including the UN and the European Union.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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