Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland testified to Congress in January that Wagner’s access to gold mines in Mali and the Central African Republic “directly funds” operations in Ukraine. In public remarks at Georgetown University in February, CIA Director William Burns described the group as “a particularly creepy Russian organization.” It’s clear the Biden administration views Wagner’s expansion in Africa as a proxy force for Russian influence. Ollongren’s concerns are shared by the Netherlands’ allies.

“By sending a couple of thousand Wagner paramilitaries, the Russians are taking over there,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told an audience in Washington last July, referring to the Sahel region. officials view Moscow’s moves in Africa as an existential threat that benefits the Kremlin to the detriment of Western interests. Western anxieties about the Russian mercenary company Wagner Group have marred Europe’s relations with a handful of African countries. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Africa has been caught in the middle of a new Cold War.

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