Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in Russian mercenaries
- Written by Christopher Michael Faulkner, Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs in the College of Distance Education, US Naval War College
While Russia’s army is bogged down in Ukraine, its mercenaries are faring no better in Africa.
In late July 2024, mercenaries from the the Wagner Group, a Moscow-aligned private military company, accompanied the Malian army in what the Malian regime called a “stabilization operation” in the West African country’s...


