Mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been in the headlines recently for their alleged role in war crimes in Ukraine. But the Kremlin-linked paramilitary group has been active in Africa for several years, where it provides a wide range of services to governments across the continent. For this week's Deep Dish, the Council’s Elizabeth Shackelford is joined by Federica Saini Fasanotti of the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan to discuss how Wagner’s growing footprint in Africa supports Russia’s strategic and commercial interests. 

Reading List:

• Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa: Influence, commercial concessions, rights violations, and counterinsurgency failure, Federica Saini Fasanotti, Brookings Institution
• To Beat Russian Influence in Africa, the West Must Offer Something Better, Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune

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