Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Yevgeny Prigozhin's death may have cleared the way for Russia to send a 20,000-strong army corps to Africa. Other Russian mercenary groups also plan to go there. One mercenary leader promises that "the era of bare-assed Zulus with a Kalashnikov assault rifle is over". ⬇️

2/ Recent reports indicate that Prigozhin's death and the Russian Ministry of Defence's efforts to squeeze out Wagner have likely unleashed a wave of competition between Russian armed organisations to take over the remains of Wagner's African empire.

3/ So far, the organisations reportedly looking at Africa include the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia, which reports directly to Putin), the GRU, and the Convoy and Redut private military companies, which are both closely linked to the MOD.

4/ VChK-OGPU reports that the deputy head of Russia's GRU and head of its Special Activities Service, Colonel-General Andrei Averyanov, plans to completely replace the Wagner Group's presence in Africa with a newly created and trained Russian army corps of 20,000 men.

5/ According to VChK-OGPU, "Prigozhin was extremely opposed to this and made every effort to prevent it." His opposition is said to have been the reason for his final journey to Moscow, where he was presumably lobbying against Averyanov's plans.

6/ As VChK-OGPU notes, "Andrei Averyanov is known for such GRU operations as the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, the explosion at a warehouse in Vrbetice in the Czech Republic, the poisoning of Bulgarian arms dealer Emelian Gebrev."

7/ Le Monde also notes that Averyanov is suspected by Western sources of having been involved in the crash of Prigozhin's plane. He would likely have good motives for wanting Prigozhin dead.
lemonde.fr/en/internation…

8/ Meanwhile, Important Stories (iStories) reports that the Convoy private military company, founded by the head of the Russian administration in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, also plans to enter Africa. Convoy is closely associated with the Russian Ministry of Defence.

9/ iStories reports: "On 21 August, the unit's Telegram channel posted a message about the recruitment of pilot navigators to fly Orion and Sirius strike UAVs in Africa. An Important Stories correspondent, disguised as a volunteer, contacted Convoy's recruiter.

10/ The recruiter said that the group to be sent to Africa has already been recruited, it is proposed that the contract will be signed both with PMCs and the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.

11/ At the same time, Convoy refused to directly answer the question of whether the fighters of this unit will have to work together with PMC Wagner in Africa."

12/ Convoy's head, Konstantin Mazai Pikalov, is a former senior Wagner commander. He says that Convoy will operated in eight unspecified African countries and told iStories: “Russia is opening a second front in order to deprive the West of resources."

13/ "Unprecedented measures have been developed to liberate African countries from colonial dependence. The era of bare-assed Zulus with a Kalashnikov assault rifle is over. We will give African soldiers new weapons and teach them how to use them."

14/ iStories also reports that the Redut mercenary group, linked to the oligarch Gennady Timchenko and Gazprom, has also been promoting recruitment opportunities in Africa with posts on social media.

15/ For instance, one Redut post says: "Wagner is in the past. If you're really interested in real work in Africa, then the Ministry of Defence and PMC Redut is your choice!" /end

Sources:
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🔹 t.me/vchkogpu/41179
storage.googleapis.com/istories/news/…