Russia’s penetration into the African continent has also been conducted through non official channels, such as the activities of private military companies (PMCs) and political interference through information manipulation campaigns. Verified reports indicate that at least seven Russian PMCs have carried out a minimum of 34 operations in 16 African countries since 2005. Amongst them, those conducted by the Wagner Group (and its subsidiaries, such as Sewa) have had the most strategic significance. Clearly falling into the category of mercenary operations, they entail not only a lasting military presence in the country, but also political influence campaigns and opaque economic relations relating to extractive industries. The long standing denial by Russia of any connection with the Wagner Group blew up after the unsuccessful mutiny by the leader of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in June 2023. After Prigozhin’s death in an allegedly accidental plane crash, the Kremlin sent Deputy Defence Minister Yunus bek Yevkurov and Major General Andrei Averyanov of the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) to reassure leaders of Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Libya , Mali and Niger about the continuity of Russian operations in their countries. To this end, a new military structure, the Africa Corps, was created under the Russian Ministry of Defence in December 2023, in an effort to regroup former Wagner assets under government control.
Furthermore, dozens of disinformation and information manipulation campaigns in several African countries, with precise strategic objectives such as spreading anti French, anti EU or anti UN narratives, denigrating national institutions, and promoting xenophobic sentiments and ethnic confrontation, have been connected to the Russian government, according to the African Centre for Strategic Studies and other analysts.
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