Media sources regularly reported on Wagner’s ruthless military campaigns throughout the world and its connection to the Kremlin. Other sources detailed the Russian state’s reliance on Wagner to carry out proxy wars throughout the world. According to Jen Kirby of Vox, Russia relied on Wagner to do its “bidding around the world in places where it did not want to openly commit troops or resources, where it could operate in a kind of gray zone. That granted Moscow a degree of plausible deniability as it exerted its influence and interest in other corners of the globe.”Jen Kirby, “The Wagner Group, Russia’s maybe-private army in Ukraine, explained,” Vox, March 21, 2023, https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2023/3/21/23622615/ukraine-war-bakhmut-wagner-group-russia. Furthermore, Yaroslav Trofimov at the Wall Street Journal interviewed a former deputy chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), who asserted that Wagner is Russia’s only “combat unit that does [storming and breakthroughs] without asking any questions—even if it takes losses of 10% to 15% after every mission.”Yarosolav Trofimov, “Wagner Mercenaries Enter the Spotlight as Russian Troops Struggle in Ukraine,” Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/wagner-mercenaries-enter-the-spotlight-as-russian-troops-struggle-in-ukraine-11660826515. Western portrayals have characterized Russia as seeing Wagner recruits as disposable. Wagner’s treatment of fighters recruited from prison has been particularly merciless. The Voice of America confirmed with U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby, that “90% of their casualties [at the frontlines of Ukraine] are convicts.”Igor Tsikhanenka, “Wagner Group’s Use of Convicts in Ukraine Echoes Stalinist Tactics,” Voice of America, January 24, 2023, https://www.voanews.com/a/wagner-group-s-use-of-convicts-in-ukraine-echoes-stalinist-tactics/6932903.html.>

Since the Russian Ministry of Defense’s absorption of the Wagner Group, media sources continue to follow the movements of the now-named Expeditionary Corps and Volunteer Corps. According to Voice of America, Putin claims Russia is not attempting to spread its influence across the continent but is rather filling a void left by France.Henry Ridgwell, Putin Denies Strategy to Spread Influence in Africa After Wagner ‘Rebrand,’” Voice of America, March 14, 2024, https://www.voanews.com/a/putin-denies-strategy-to-spread-influence-in-africa-after-wagner-rebrand/7527948.html. Despite the formalization of Russian military presence across Africa, media sources report that Russian forces continue to employ an unprofessional and violent approach in their missions. Acts of indiscriminate violence have not subsided, and according to the Associated Press and the Africa Defense Forum, the Africa Corps has been supporting government forces in carrying out raids that kill dozens of civilians across the Sahel, with ethnic minorities often being targeted.Jessica Donati, “In Mali, Russian Wagner mercenaries are helping the army kill civilians, rights groups say,” Associated Press, March 28, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/mali-drone-strikes-insurgent-wagner-rights-796f5246c4d0d8e436eb1ea83f9212bf; “Russian Mercenaries Take Aim at Ethnic Minorities in Mali,” Africa Defense Forum, March 19, 2024, https://adf-magazine.com/2024/03/russian-mercenaries-take-aim-at-ethnic-minorities-in-mali/. Although the Wagner Group was fully disbanded in November 2023, media sources have referred to the Wagner Group and the Expeditionary Corps and Volunteers Corps as being synonymous despite the Wagner Group being a anachronistic label.