{"id":237,"date":"2019-08-13T18:03:01","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T22:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imjustsayin.live\/?p=237"},"modified":"2020-08-09T00:02:45","modified_gmt":"2020-08-09T04:02:45","slug":"an-exceptional-piece-of-work-by-cnn-on-putins-private-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imjustsayin.live\/index.php\/2019\/08\/13\/an-exceptional-piece-of-work-by-cnn-on-putins-private-army\/","title":{"rendered":"An exceptional piece of work by CNN on ‘Putin’s Private Army"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is simply an exceptional piece of work by CNN’s Tim Listor, Sebastian Shukia, and Clarissa Ward which I wanted to share … there is a link to the full piece at the end for accompanying documents. I think, between these kinds of efforts, and what is occurring as I type between China and Hong Kong …<\/span><\/p>\n

The World Is About To Change!<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m Just Sayin’ … .<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Central African Republic<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>(CNN)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/b>\u00a0There\u2019s nothing secret about\u00a0Russia\u2019s presence<\/a>in the\u00a0Central African Republic<\/a>. The streets are plastered with propaganda posters proclaiming \u201cRussia: hand in hand with your army!\u201d A local radio station churns out Russian ballads and language lessons. New recruits to the army are being trained in Russian, using Russian weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Russian campaign in this war-torn country is anything but straightforward, drawing on a mix of guns-for-hire and clever PR to increase Moscow\u2019s influence, outmaneuver its rivals and re-assert itself as a major player in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Posters across Bangui are reminiscent of old Soviet propaganda. The posters read: \u201cCentral African Republic is hand in hand with Russia\u201d and \u201ctalk a little, work a lot.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>– Credit: Sebastian Shukla\/CNN<\/span><\/p>\n

A months-long CNN investigation has established that this ambitious drive into the heart of Africa is being sponsored by\u00a0Yevgeny Prigozhin<\/a>\u00a0— an oligarch so close to the Kremlin that he is known as President Vladimir Putin\u2019s \u201cchef.\u201d He was\u00a0sanctioned by the US<\/a>\u00a0for funding the Internet Research Agency that meddled in the 2016 presidential election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prigozhin\u2019s conglomerate includes a company called Lobaye Invest that funds the radio station in the Central African Republic (CAR). It also finances the training of army recruits in the CAR by some 250 Russian mercenaries, with more on the way. The dividend for Lobaye Invest: generous concessions to explore for diamonds and gold in a country rich in mineral wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prigozhin is no stranger to the world of mercenaries, or private military contractors (PMCs) as they are known in Russia. He\u2019s thought to be the driving force behind\u00a0Wagner<\/a>, a secretive contractor whose soldiers of fortune played a role in Syria and eastern Ukraine. One of his veteran accomplices heads the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Play Video<\/span><\/p>\n

Russian mercenaries creep into Africa\u00a0<\/span><\/b>6:08<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Our road to the CAR starts with a witness thousands of miles away in a drab Soviet-era apartment.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Russian mercenary sits in the gloom, chain-smoking and preparing to talk for the first time about his life in a secret army that officially doesn\u2019t exist.<\/span><\/p>\n

He has fought in Chechnya against separatist rebels and in Syria to support the regime of Bashar al-Assad.<\/span><\/p>\n

He asked for his identity to be concealed, afraid of reprisals for speaking about the shadowy force that is helping to extend Russian power and influence in unstable areas of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was paid, he says, by Wagner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\/\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of a Wagner mercenary unit, whose faces have been blurred, operating in the Syrian desert.\u00a0<\/span>– Credit: Obtained by CNN<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a fighting unit that will do anything that Putin says,\u201d he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is a charge the Kremlin denies. In June, Putin said of military contractors in Syria: \u201cThese people risk their lives and by and large this is also a contribution in fighting terrorism \u2026 but this is not the Russian state, not the Russian army.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But analysts say it\u2019s inconceivable that Wagner would exist without Putin\u2019s approval. Indeed, its training camp in Molkino in southern Russia is attached to a Russian special forces base, guarded by regular soldiers who do not welcome visitors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prigozhin has previously denied being connected to Wagner. Neither he nor anyone from his companies would talk to CNN, but after mixed fortunes in Ukraine and Syria the oligarch appears to have turned his attention to Africa, with various subsidiaries at work in Libya, Sudan and the Central African Republic.<\/span><\/p>\n

PlayMuteMute<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Current Time<\/span><\/b>4:19<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Duration Time<\/span><\/b>4:19<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Loaded: 0%<\/span><\/p>\n

Progress: 0%<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fullscreen<\/span><\/p>\n

Meet \u2018Oleg\u2019, the chain-smoking former Wagner mercenary\u00a0<\/span><\/b>4:19<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

In the CAR, the mercenaries\u2019 headquarters are on the grounds of a now dilapidated former presidential palace at Berengo, a two-hour drive from the capital Bangui.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2017, the UN Security Council approved a Russian training mission, but other governments did not expect Prigozhin\u2019s men to fill the void. Not surprisingly, the trainers covered their faces and refused to speak to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

The one man who is interviewed is Valery Zakharov, a cheerful and florid former military intelligence officer who spent time in Chechnya in the 1990s and is now in charge of the training.<\/span><\/p>\n

He views his role simply, telling CNN: \u201cRussia is returning to Africa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were present in many countries during the time of the Soviet Union, and Russia is coming back to the same position. We still have connections and we are trying to re-establish them,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

MoscowUkraineSyriaLibyaSudanCentral African Republic<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s expanding influence across three continents<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Mercenaries<\/span>Russian mercenaries first appeared in\u00a0<\/span>Ukraine<\/span>\u00a0in 2014. Since then they have spread across three continents, often targeting unstable countries. Private Military Companies are officially illegal in Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n

An exact figure on how many fighters there are is hard to estimate. However, CNN has independently confirmed at least several hundred.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kremlin-connected oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to be behind the most notorious group — Wagner.<\/span><\/p>\n

Natural resources<\/span>Many of the countries where Russian mercenaries are active have large stores of natural resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

In\u00a0<\/span>Sudan<\/span>\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span>CAR<\/span>, Prigozhin-linked companies have been given exploration rights to gold and diamond mines. In\u00a0<\/span>Syria<\/span>, Wagner mercenaries secured oil fields in exchange for a percentage of profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

National influence<\/span>Russia has been trying to boost its influence in a number of African states, penning bilateral agreements with multiple countries, some of which are shown on this map.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zakharov describes the instructors as \u201creservists.\u201d But neither he nor anyone else could explain who sent them and who pays them. And his own role in the country is somewhat unclear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zakharov told CNN he works as a security adviser for the Central African Republic\u2019s President Faustin-Archange Touad\u00e9ra.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe pays me a salary, therefore, I work for him,\u201d Zakharov said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He added that he had never met Prigozhin and insisted Wagner did not operate in the CAR.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear again what we mean by Wagner — if we mean the composer?\u201d he joked. \u201cLegally it does not exist and therefore we are going to consider that it does not exist. As regards the Central African Republic at the current time, there is no PMC (Private Military Contractor) Wagner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/interactive\/2019\/08\/africa\/putins-private-army-car-intl\/media\/img\/ai2html-diagram-desktop.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Prigozhin\u2019s complex network of companies<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Yevgeny V.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Prigozhin<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Ties to Putin\u2019s<\/span><\/p>\n

inner circle<\/span><\/p>\n

Manages<\/span><\/p>\n

Vladimir V. Putin<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Concord<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Megaline<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Listed as 50%<\/span><\/p>\n

owned by Prigozhin<\/span><\/p>\n

Shares email \/ domain name with Concord<\/span><\/p>\n

M-Finans<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Parent company<\/span><\/p>\n

for a group of<\/span><\/p>\n

companies<\/span><\/p>\n

Registered<\/span><\/p>\n

in Russia<\/span><\/p>\n

CAR<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of \/<\/span><\/p>\n

subsidiary of<\/span><\/p>\n

Evgeny Khodotov has<\/span><\/p>\n

run both companies<\/span><\/p>\n

Accused by US<\/span><\/p>\n

of backing Internet<\/span><\/p>\n

Research Agency (IRA)<\/span><\/p>\n

Owned or controlled<\/span><\/p>\n

by Prigozhin<\/span><\/p>\n

Lobaye<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Invest<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

M-Invest<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Sudan<\/span><\/p>\n

CAR<\/span><\/p>\n

Internet<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Research<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Agency<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Evro<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Polis<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Dmitry V. Utkin<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is head of Wagner. A man of the same name was listed as Director General of Concord<\/span><\/p>\n

Syria<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of \/<\/span><\/p>\n

subsidiary of<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia<\/span><\/p>\n

Accused by US of<\/span><\/p>\n

influencing the 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

Presidential Election<\/span><\/p>\n

Under US<\/span><\/p>\n

treasury sanctions<\/span><\/p>\n

SEWA<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Security<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Services<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Wagner<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

CAR<\/span><\/p>\n

Notorious group<\/span><\/p>\n

of mercenaries<\/span><\/p>\n

But CNN has obtained documents showing Zakharov has been paid by a Prigozhin company, M-Finans, at least once, in July 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

He lives at the headquarters of Lobaye Invest, in a walled compound outside the capital, Bangui. A solitary Russian flag flutters nearby; an ammunition box with Cyrillic script sits atop the wall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zakharov\u2019s employer, President Touadera, told CNN there was no link between the support Russia provided in military training and \u201cother sectors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But CNN obtained documents showing that Lobaye Invest had won exploration rights at seven sites to look for diamonds and gold.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is simply an exceptional piece of work by CNN’s Tim Listor, Sebastian Shukia, and Clarissa Ward which I wanted to share … there is a link to the full piece at the end for accompanying documents. I think, between these kinds of efforts, and what is occurring as I type between China and Hong Kong<\/b> …<\/span><\/p>\n

The World Is About To Change!<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m Just Sayin’ … .<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/interactive\/2019\/08\/africa\/putins-private-army-car-intl\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 This is simply an exceptional piece of work by CNN’s Tim Listor, Sebastian Shukia, and Clarissa Ward which I wanted to share … there is a link to the full piece at the end for accompanying documents. I think, between these kinds of efforts, and what is occurring as I type between China and … <\/p>\n

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