There is fierce competition for access to roads in conflict zones
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Feb. 23, 2025.
Sergei Bobylyov/AFP via Getty Images
In the Central African Republic, peacekeeping missions are losing popular support by failing to meet people’s expectations, leaving room for more ruthless actors.
The junta leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger pose for photos at the first joint summit of the Alliance of Sahel States in July 2024.
Issifou Djibo / EPA
While Wagner may offer short-term stability for some African governments, its long-term impact undermines sustainable development and security.
Gen Abdourahamane Tiani (second left), the head of the military regime in Niger, greets a crowd in Niamey in July 2024.
Boureima Hama/AFP via Getty Images
Nigeria shares a long border with Niger. With the expanded relationship between Niger and Russia, the Wagner group poses a threat to the region, especially Nigeria.
Protesters in Bamako hold a banner reading “Thank you Wagner” to celebrate French troops’ withdrawal from Mali in 2022.
Florent Vergnes/AFP via Getty Images
The ambush of Russia’s Wagner soldiers and Malian forces by rebels with Ukrainian support raises concerns of the beginning of a proxy war between Russia and Ukraine in west Africa.
Malians demonstrate in support of Russia on the 60th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Mali, in Bamako, Mali, in September 2020. Russian mercenaries have played a key role in the fighting in several African countries, prompting attacks by Ukrainian-backed rebels.
(AP Photo)
In causing disproportionate losses to Russian soldiers in Africa, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces give their soldiers and the people of Ukraine a morale boost amid a largely stagnant war at home.
Russian mercenaries accompany a soldier in northern Mali.
French Army via AP
Dozens of Russian fighters were killed in confrontation with rebel groups in Mali amid speculation that Ukrainian intelligence played a role.
Heads of Niger’s military junta Gen. Tiani (C), Malian Col. Goita (L) and Burkina Faso’s Capt. Traore (R) after signing the Confederation of Sahel States documents in Niamey on 6 July 2024.
AFP via Getty Images
To win its counterinsurgency war, Mali’s military must focus on the fragility of the state, strained military capabilities, and fallout from Russian-Ukraine crisis.
People parading a Russian flag around the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo