
Did Wagner succeed in the eyes of its African and Middle Eastern clients?
Think tank: RUSI
Author(s): Dr Antonio Giustozzi; Dr Joana de Deus Pereira; Professor David Lewis
January 9, 2025
This report from UK think tank RUSI looks at the Wagner Group from the perspective of its African and Middle Eastern clients.
This Whitehall Report looks at the Wagner Group from the perspective of its African and Middle Eastern clients, focusing on four case studies: Mali, the Central African Republic, Mozambique and Syria.
Why did the governments of these countries seek Wagner’s services and how did they assess its work? The general perception has been that Wagner’s success was due to its willingness to provide regime survival packages to whoever was willing to pay, but the reality is more complex.
Wagner delivered a range of services to African and Middle Eastern governments and each of these needs to be assessed separately. In terms of support services such as training, advising and maintenance, Wagner’s performance was rather undistinguished in the view of its African and Middle Eastern clients.
After the mutiny in 2023, most of Wagner’s support services contracts were taken over without much trouble by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD).