The chief of Wagner Group, a private military company Yevgeny Prigozhin was spotted at the Africa-Russia summit in St. Petersburg this week.
A confirmed sighting of Mr. Prigozhin in Russia took place when he was seen shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a senior official in the Central African Republic (CAR).
A photograph of Mr. Prighozin was posted on Facebook by Dmitri Syty, who manages Wagner’s operations in CAR. This is the first time Mr. Prigozhin has been seen in Russia since Wagner’s failed mutiny in June.
The meeting between Mr. Prigozhin and Ambassador Mapouka occurred at the Trezzini Palace hotel in St Petersburg, as confirmed by BBC Verify.
The verification was done using facial recognition software, which indicated a 99% match between known photographs of the CAR official and the picture featuring Prigozhin, confirming they are the same person.
Additionally, the background details in the photo were matched to the Trezzini Palace hotel, which is believed to be owned by Prigozhin according to Russian media.
Ambassador Mapouka was wearing a distinctive lanyard with a pattern identical to the official lanyard worn by delegates at the summit. A search for the same image did not yield any earlier copies, suggesting that it has recently appeared online.
It is worth noting that Mr. Prigozhin’s recent appearance in Belarus was documented in a video on Telegram channels linked to the Wagner mercenary group. In the video, he was seen welcoming fighters and discussing developments on the frontline in Ukraine, indicating a potential rejoining of the war by Wagner in the future.
During the Africa-Russia Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a promise to replace Ukrainian grain exports to African countries on both commercial and aid bases to help prevent a potential “global food crisis.”
Specifically, Putin offered to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tonnes of free grain each in the next three to four months.
This move came after Russia withdrew from a deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports to pass through the Black Sea to reach global markets, including Africa.
However, the European Union (EU) has expressed skepticism over Mr. Putin’s promise, with the European Commission stating that Russia is unlikely to honor its pledge to send free grain to African countries. This has raised concerns about potential misleading actions by Russia in its relations with African nations.
Wagner’s clout has significantly grown on the African continent most especially in the Sahel region of Africa, heightening its operations in Mali, CAR, Sudan, Libya among others.
It is also believed that the paramilitary group had a hand in the military coup against President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, which was sealed on Thursday this week. Mr. Prighzin commented on the actions of the mutinous soldiers as “Niger’s fight against colonialists”
The presence of the Wagner Group chief at the summit has prompted questions about Russia’s strategic interests in the region and their potential collaboration with African nations.
As concerns grow about the implications of Wagner’s operations in Africa, stakeholders are closely monitoring the situation for any further updates or official statements from involved parties.
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