Wagner Mercenaries Shift Focus to Africa, Closing Russian Base

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, appeared in a video welcoming his fighters to Belarus and stating that they would not participate in the Ukraine war for now. Instead, he instructed them to prepare for a new mission in Africa. The video is the first evidence of Prigozhin's whereabouts since Wagner's failed mutiny against Russia's military leadership. Prigozhin's troops had briefly taken control of Rostov-on-Don and drove an armed convoy near Moscow before a deal was struck to avert armed confrontation. Wagner Group has been involved in conflicts in African countries such as the Central African Republic, Libya, and Mali.