The Royal United Services Institute published in February 2024 a study titled "The Threat from Russia's Unconventional Warfare Beyond Ukraine, 2022-2024" by Jack Watling, Oleksandr V. Danylyuk, and Nick Reynolds.
This is a detailed analysis of the Wagner Group, now known in Africa as the Africa Corps. Most of the financing and enablement of the Wagner Group always came directly from the Russian state. It evolved in response to GRU (Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) requirements.
It was an arm of Russia's Africa strategy to displace Western interests, gain control over critical resources, and reduce Russia's own vulnerability to sanctions. In Africa, the Wagner Group operated as a colonial project to gain control over African governments and exploit the continent's natural resources. Beyond Africa, the study concluded that Russia is using unconventional methods to expand its influence, evade containment, and destabilize and disrupt its adversaries.
