Russian PMCs have helped the Kremlin expand its global alliances and secure critical minerals, and all at a relatively low cost. They will remain a feature of Russian foreign policy unless countered by Washington.

From the covert to the overt, the Kremlin’s Expeditionary Corps is taking over Wagner’s global operations.

The fight between two private security contractors – Bancroft and Wagner – for leverage in the Central African Republic is the perfect distillation of wider US-Russia geopolitical competition in Africa.

Contrary to much of the commentary surrounding the event, the outcome of the Prigozhin mutiny actually shows resiliency, not weakness, in the Putin apparatus.

Though nominally a mercenary organization, there’s a strong case to be made for a Wagner Group terrorist designation.

First in a two-part series, this backgrounder traces the origins and earliest deployments of Russia’s infamous mercenary outfit: the Wagner Group.

After initial deployments in Ukraine and Syria, the African continent has become the main theater for Wagner Group operations.

Russia’s loss could be the United States’ gain when it comes to mercenary operations in Africa.