A monument in honour of the late leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been unveiled in the Central African Republic (CAR). The statue of Prigozhin and his right-hand man Dmitru Utkin, who both died in a plane crash last year, was erected in the capital Bangui.

Previously all-powerful, the Wagner Group has slowly been reduced in size and dismantled in many of the countries it operated in since the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in August 2023. VOA Russian spoke to U.

The ongoing conflicts in Africa have heightened the demand for foreign mercenaries, particularly the Russian-trained Wagner group, which has integrated with a significant portion of African military forces.