The Latest Breaking News from the Wagner Group

The Central African Republic (CAR) is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its GDP per capita in 2022 was estimated at US$491 per year.

The apparent assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin in the crash of his private jet between Moscow and St. Petersburg represents an inflection point in Russian-African relations. Prigozhin, as leader of the notorious Wagner Group, had been the point man for Russia in Africa since Wagner first began operations on the continent…

The death of Yevgeny Prigozhin after his private jet crashed on August 23 has raised questions about the Wagner Group’s future. Many in the west suspect Kremlin involvement in his death and are asking what will become of the mercenary group without its charismatic leader.

The secretive war-hardened career-officer-turned-mercenary is said to have given the Wagner group its name.

Vladimir Putin has leant on military contractors to claim victories in Ukraine but his former friend’s attempted mutiny and threats against Russia’s defence establishment have exposed cracks in the president’s authority

Stefan Wolff professor of international security at the University of Birmingham explains how Yevgeny Prigozhin is just another in a long line of those who have faced an early demise after opposing Vladimir Putin. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin made his name as the profane and brutal mercenary boss who mounted an armed rebellion that was the most severe and shocking challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule

Prigozhin’s death will slow the Wagner machine in Africa but its value to military regimes will continue to be prized.

Vladimir Putin has leant on military contractors to claim victories in Ukraine but his former friend’s attempted mutiny and threats against Russia’s defence establishment have exposed cracks in the president’s authority