Defense One posted on 22 May 2018 an article titled "Russia is Back in Africa -- And Making Some Very Odd Deals" by Marcel Plichta, University of Glasgow.
The posting describes Russia's military support for the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and its contact with rebel leaders in the country. Russia has had limited involvement in Africa in recent years; focusing on the troubled CAR seems a strange choice. The author concludes that whatever Moscow's endgame might be, capitalizing on the CAR's insecurity and the international community's inaction is giving Russia unprecedented influence in a country traditionally aligned with the West.