Russian Mercenaries in Africa: A Closer Look

Putin the Terrible and his involvement in the current Scramble for Africa!

"Russian private military contractors or mercenaries, such as the Wagner Group, have proliferated across Africa since 2018. Moscow uses these groups to develop relationships with African partners and expand its global footprint. Mercenaries also serve as an important source of revenue for the Kremlin.

A new RAND report examines how Russia’s armed presence in Africa has changed in recent years, what types of activities Russian mercenaries perform, and the effects these groups have on African governments, economies, and civilian populations.

Overall, the analysis reveals increasing violence, human rights abuses, and negative public sentiment surrounding Russian mercenaries in Africa. “Rather than addressing security issues and building defense capacity for countries they operate in,” the authors write, “Russian mercenaries seek to exploit and profit off insecurity.” As a result, the security situations in countries that employ these groups are worsening."

"... Although Russia has sought to capitalize on its ambiguous relationships with mercenaries to ignore international norms, Moscow has taken public and direct control over these groups in countries in Africa. Russian mercenaries have operated a nimble expeditionary force, seemingly unencumbered by international rules of war, which has bolstered authoritarian regimes in Africa at the expense of the civilian populations’ and the countries’ overall security. ...

Key Findings

• Russian mercenaries have a clear presence in six African countries.
• Despite the creation of the Africa Corps (an entity created after Wagner’s failed 2023 rebellion, intended to resume Wagner’s efforts in Africa), the Wagner Group’s structure and brand continue to be used in several countries to sustain existing operations. This structure can vary depending on the country.
• Rather than addressing security issues and building defense capacity for countries in which they operate, Russian mercenaries seek to exploit and profit off insecurity.
• The security situations in countries employing Russian mercenaries are worsening. The number of attacks and fatalities committed by militant Islamist groups has increased significantly since Russian mercenaries have replaced United Nations and West African security forces.
• An analysis of public sentiment shows that those in several African countries hold more negative than positive views of Russian mercenaries.
• Russian mercenary activities not only affect the countries that employ them, but they also affect surrounding countries. Both mercenary-perpetrated violence and illicit economic activity are not constrained by borders and have affected entire regions.

"

Policy Currents Newsletter: May 1, 2025 | RAND

Russian Mercenary and Paramilitary Groups in Africa "Examining Changes and Impacts Since the Wagner Rebellion [June 2023]"

FIGURE 1

Assessment of Russian Mercenary Presence in Africa Before the

Wagner Rebellion, 2018–2021

FIGURE 2 Russian Mercenary Presence and Military Activities in Africa