US is concerned about growing influence of PMC Wagner in Serbia, Belarus and Africa
The administration of US President Joe Biden intensified the collection of intelligence information about the activities of the private military company "Wagner" outside Ukraine, in particular in African countries, fearing its use by russia for influence operations.
This is stated in the internal documents of the White House, with which the Politico media outlet got acquainted, Rubryka writes.
High-ranking US officials believe russia uses the "Wagner" PMC to combat anti-putin sentiments and protect private economic interests, primarily in countries such as the Central African Republic, Mali, and Serbia.
The documents describe how the American side monitors the movement and activities of "Wagnerians" in the mentioned countries, as well as the extent of the mercenaries' threat to local authorities.
"The U.S. government is concerned about the extent to which Wagner is interfering in sovereign countries' internal politics, violating human rights, and robbing them of mineral wealth," one senior administration official said. "There is significant evidence that Wagner's harsh counterterrorism tactics in places like Mali are worsening the situation by creating more opportunities for extremist exploitation," a senior Biden administration official said off the record.
For example, in December 2022, the United States began to monitor the consequences of an alleged attack on one of the leadership representatives of the "Wagner" PMC – Dmitry Sytia, who heads the "russian House" in the Central African Republic. The Wagner founder, an oligarch close to the Kremlin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, blamed France for the attack.
American officials are also interested in the activities of PMC "Wagner" in Serbia and Belarus. As you know, in December, Wagner announced the start of their activities in Belgrade. In the US, they believe this was to counter "activities against putin's regime on the part of representatives of the russian diaspora." In addition, the presence of PMC "Wagner" in Serbia is taking place against the background of increasing tensions on the border with the partially recognized Kosovo.
