Since the death of their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, the fate of many Wagner mercenaries has been uncertain. However, Ukraine has made it its mission to hunt Russian mercenaries around the world.
Now “Kyiv Post” has published a video that is supposed to show the arrest of some Wagner soldiers in Sudan. The recordings cannot be independently verified. The source is the Ukrainian ‘Special Forces’, i.e. special units in the army that carry out particularly challenging and dangerous missions.
Wagner mercenaries operate in Africa
“What is your rank?” a Ukrainian soldier asks in the video. He is crouching in front of three men. Her eyes are tied with a yellow ribbon. The people are wearing nothing other than military pants and what appears to be shoes. Dry sand and dust stick to their skin.
“Soldier,” one of the three prisoners answers.
“Your unit?” his colleague wants to know.
“PMC Wagner,” he says.
Another man in a Ukrainian uniform walks by the camera and holds two Band-Aids in the lens. You see the typical skull, the emblem of the Russian private army.
The Wagner troops were once one of the central units that – led by their boss Yevgeny Prigozhin – fought for Russia in Ukraine. They played a crucial role, especially in the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
However, Prigozhin went too far out of the window: he publicly feuded with the Ministry of Defense and ridiculed the Russian army for its military failures. Ultimately, he and his mercenaries drove towards Moscow – a lightning-fast uprising against the Kremlin and thus against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Apparently a deal has been agreed, Prigozhin disappeared from the scene – and about a month later he and the entire Wagner leadership died in a plane crash.
In the video of ‘Kyiv Post’, the Ukrainian soldier asks the mercenary how the fighters ended up in Sudan. “We drove to Khartoum via the Central African Republic,” the mercenary answers. The goal was to ‘overthrow the government there’.
Sudan sinks into the chaos of a bloody civil war
Since mid-April, the forces of military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF militia of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo have been locked in a power struggle in Sudan. About 13,000 people have been killed so far, according to the non-governmental organization Acled.
According to the Kyiv Post, Russia, along with the Wagner mercenaries, was directly involved in the 2019 coup in Sudan. The Wagner mercenary group is said to be the largest arms supplier to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to this day. Even after the death of Wagner boss Prigozhin, it is said.
“How many of you are here?” the Ukrainian asks in the video and continues the interrogation.
“100 people.”
Two Africans kneel next to the Russian-speaking Wagner mercenary. “Kyiv Post” assumes that they were probably recruited by the local private army. A translator asks them how much they earn. The answer is: “1000 dollars”. A lot of money for a lot of people in Sudan.
Russia has been trying to expand its power on the African continent for years and has been successful. In some West and Central African countries, the Kremlin is successfully waging an information war and creating anti-NATO sentiment. The Wagner mercenaries play an important role in Russia’s Africa strategy.
A Kiev Post source close to the Ukrainian special forces says: “The task of destroying Russian mercenaries and their local terrorist partners in Sudan will probably be carried out by Ukrainian special forces… The work we are doing [in Sudan] plans will be implemented.”
In other words, Ukraine is not only holding off Russian invasion on its own territory, but is also standing in the way of Russian influence in Africa.
Sources
(watson.de/dsc)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
