FLASH
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After Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed coup in June of this year, Russia has systematically dismantled the Wagner Group and placed key elements under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Although Wagner played a major role in the war in Ukraine - particularly in securing Bakhmut after months of destruction - their presence in Africa enables Russian influence far beyond the Ukrainian battlefields.
The Wagner Group's operations in North Africa are very profitable for Russian officials, and despite their betrayal of the Kremlin, Putin still needs their skills.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Russian Ministry of Defense may have appointed former Air Force commander Sergei Surovik to the task.
Russian sources posted photos of the previously dismissed general linked to Wagner in Algeria on September 15. Russian bloggers claimed that Surovikin has a new official position as Chairman of the Coordination Committee for Air Defense Affairs and speculated that Surovikin may take over Wagner's assets and operations in the region.
Surovikin may be involved in Russian efforts to take control of Wagner's operations because of his connection to mercenaries and his command experience, although it is unclear whether the Russian Defense Ministry intends for Surovikin to take direct command of these efforts.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian officials met with Khalifa Haftar (commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army) in recent weeks to seek access to ports in Benghazi or Tobruk for Russian warships.
Officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense are said to have visited Libya several times in the past months to replace private military companies with formations controlled by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Kremlin may be trying to revive a long-running campaign to secure access to a Mediterranean port in Libya, in parallel with efforts to rein in Wagner's operations in Africa.
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