How Prigozhin death could weaken Putin’s influence in Africa with Wagner group ‘splintered’

Vladimir Putin’s influence in Africa could be left weakened by the reported death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin with some fighters set to leave the mercenary group or be absorbed into a new organisation, experts have told i. ... Emily Ferris, a Russia and Eurasia Security Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that the group’s operations in Africa are “most likely to be impacted by Prigozhin’s death”, with difficulties rebuilding senior leadership as other key figures including Wagner founder Dmitry Utkin were also reported to be on board the plane that crashed. Ms Ferris said that the most likely outcome was for Wagner to “splinter in two,” with the group’s “leaderless” Belarus factions disbanded and the faction active abroad “morphing into something else that can be a tool of Russian foreign policy."