The first thing to understand about the Wagner Group is that there most likely is no Wagner Group. As far as researchers can tell, there is no single registered business called Wagner. Rather, the name has come to describe a network of businesses and groups of mercenaries that have been linked by overlaps in ownership and logistics networks. Entities making up the network have been described in sanctions designations by the U.S. Treasury as being involved in a wide range of activities, including working to suppress pro-democracy protests, spreading disinformation, mining for gold and diamonds, and engaging in paramilitary activity.
Why the Interest in Russian mercenaries?
Mali
Mali has asked private Russian companies to boost security, Russia's foreign minister confirmed Saturday, as the Malian leader accused France of abandoning the conflict-ridden country by preparing a large troop drawdown.
European countries have warned the Malian government on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week against hiring paramilitaries from the controversial Wagner group.
But with Paris set to reduce its military presence in Mali, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that the Malian government was turning towards "private Russian companies."
Why is France drawing down in Mali
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While Operation Barkhane has achieved some tactical successes over the past 18 months, since the addition of more French forces at the beginning of 2020, the overall situation continues to deteriorate. The French strategy, intended to counter the Islamist insurgency while helping regional states to build or rebuild their governance and military capacity, has not fully delivered. At the same time, the French armed forces are at risk of overstretch. In his announcement Macron declared, ‘We cannot secure areas that are falling back into lawlessness because states decide not to shoulder their responsibilities. It is impossible, or else it is endless work.’ This appears to signal a reduction in Paris’s political objectives and ambitions.
Who is in control of Mali?
Mali's constitutional court has named the leader of the country's military coup, Colonel Assimi Goïta, as its transitional president.
Col Goïta had already declared himself interim president on Wednesday, two days after seizing power in Mali's second coup in nine months.
He also led the first coup last August, which saw the elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta forced out of office.
The court said Friday's decision was due to the "vacancy in the presidency".
On Monday, the two men tasked with steering the country back to civilian rule, interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, were detained by soldiers.
Col Goïta said that both men had failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country's transition
Just some information if you hear about Mali in the news.
From the first link
Where does the name Wagner come from?
Parsing facts from the mythology that has developed around the Wagner Group gets particularly messy on this issue. “We don’t really know where this name comes from,” Sukhankin said. “In many ways this is a convenient cliche.”
The name Wagner is reported to have been the nom de guerre of one of the group’s early commanders in the fighting in eastern Ukraine, Dmitry Utkin, a former lieutenant colonel in the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU. Utkin is alleged to have been enamored with Nazi Germany, including Adolf Hitler’s favorite composer, Richard Wagner. In 2016, Utkin was pictured at a ceremony in the Kremlin intended to honor the courage of military personnel and civilians, but he hasn’t been seen in public since.
The mythology around Wagner appears to be something Prigozhin is keen to indulge. He is reported to have funded three feature-length action movies about the group’s operatives in Libya and the Central African Republic. The film Tourist, which had its premiere in the latter country’s capital, Bangui, earlier this year, offers a heroic portrayal of a group of Russian military advisors dispatched to the country to fight back violent rebel groups.
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