Author: Stephen Blank / Eurasia Daily Monitor

Since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Moscow has substantially increas­ed its presence in Africa as part of its ploy to restructure the international order in its favor. Besides the long-running campaigns to obtain air and naval bases in and around the Mediterranean and Red seas, the Kremlin seeks semi-permanent army bases in Sub-Saharan...

One Russian mercenary paramilitary force, the Wagner private military company (PMC), has long earned itself the grisly reputation as a vicious, brutal predatory armed force. It carries out operations in Ukraine, Libya, Syria, Mali, Sudan, Mozambique and the Central African Republic, among others. Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin has even acknowledged that Wagner operates on...

From the outset of Moscow’s re-invasion of Ukraine in February, nuclear threats and blackmail have been integral to Russia’s overall strategy. President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of the “special military operation” was accompanied by the usual blood-curdling threats, expecting that such loaded language would deter or inhibit Western reactions to his war (Kremlin.ru, February 24). Moreover,...