With the Wagner leader dead, Russia’s Defense Ministry is asserting control over his operations in the Middle East and Africa.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is moving swiftly to take control of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s sprawling operations in Africa and the Middle East, days after his renegade ex-protege died in a mysterious plane crash.
A Defense Ministry-affiliated armed contractor is poised to assume charge of Wagner’s operations in the Central African Republic, said a person close to the Defense Ministry and two others close to the private military firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
All of Wagner’s covert overseas network is due to fall under effective Russian military command, according to a person close to the Kremlin and another person close to the Defence Ministry, ending a setup that gave Putin a veil of deniability but allowed Prigozhin to build enough independence to lead an audacious mutiny in June.
© Bloomberg
