{"id":118648,"date":"2023-09-09T22:31:56","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T22:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/?p=118648"},"modified":"2023-09-09T22:31:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T22:31:56","slug":"russia-to-ditch-ukraine-and-send-thousands-of-troops-to-africa-wagner-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/world-news\/russia-to-ditch-ukraine-and-send-thousands-of-troops-to-africa-wagner-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia to ditch Ukraine and send thousands of troops to Africa, Wagner claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

The biggest Telegram channel affiliated to Russia's Wagner mercenary group has claimed President Vladimir Putin is preparing to \u201csend thousands\u201d of troops from Ukraine to Africa \u2013 abandoning the Ukraine invasion in the process. <\/p>\n

According to various reports Russia has seen more than 250,000 troops killed since first invading Ukraine in early 2022. <\/p>\n

And while the Wagner group was seen as Russia's most feared unit when it came to helping Putin pick up some minor wins in the war, the group has also been fighting battles in Africa on behalf of governments looking to the group to do its bidding, specifically the Central African Republic and Mali.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Pupils 'roaming streets' after school kicks them out for 'wearing short skirts'<\/b><\/p>\n

In the case of the former, it was the last place that ex-Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was seen alive before his plane exploded flying from Moscow to St Petersburg last month.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In a semi-rant on the Grey Zone Telegram channel \u2013 the first channel to confirm the death of Prigozhin \u2013 a spokesman said: \u201cFor several years, Yevgeny Prigozhin tried to convince different echelons of the Russian government that the 'African foothold' is a promising international direction, and in response he received only go-aheads, they say, 'it\u2019s expensive, it\u2019s impossible, and no one needs it'.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen he just started doing it himself with a little help from those people in the government who still care, and those who consider Russian foreign activities not only as a way to earn money.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n