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Wagner's boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has appeared in a video message for the first time since his failed rebellion in Russia. Apparently, Prigozhin is in Africa.
Video posted on Telegram channels linked to the Wagner mercenary group shows Prigozhin in combat gear, saying the group is making Africa "freer". In the video, Prigozhin says Wagner is exploring for minerals as well as fighting Islamic militants and other criminals.
"We are working. The temperature is +50, everything as we like. Wagner PMC conducts reconnaissance and search operations, makes Russia even bigger on all continents and Africa even freer," Prigozhin is heard saying.
"Justice and happiness for the African people, we are making life a nightmare for ISIS (Islamic State) and Al-Qaeda and other thugs."
He says Wagner is recruiting and the group will "continue to fulfill the tasks that were set".
Wagner is believed to have thousands of fighters on the continent, where he has lucrative business interests. The UK imposed sanctions last month on the two heads of Wagner's operations in the CAR, accusing them of torturing and killing civilians.
Wagner's fighters have also been accused by the US of enriching themselves through illegal gold deals on the continent.
Prigozhin was photographed in St Petersburg during last month's Africa-Russia summit, shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a presidential adviser in CAR.
Prigozhin has kept a low public profile since leading his short-lived uprising in June, which lasted just 24 hours.
About 5,000 Wagner troops took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and moved toward Moscow, with the stated goal of removing the military leadership. However, Prigozhin halted progress after negotiations with the Kremlin, which were brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Under a deal to end the uprising, charges against Prigozhin were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus. There had been very public infighting between Wagner and Russia's defense ministry over the conduct of the war. Prigozhin repeatedly accused the ministry of failing to supply his group with ammunition.
Prigozhin says he founded the Wagner group in 2014. A wealthy businessman with a criminal record, Prigozhin is known as "Putin's chef" because he provided catering for the Kremlin. In 2014, Wagner began supporting pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine and is believed to have helped Russia annex Crimea.
Before the war in Ukraine, Wagner had about 5,000 fighters - mostly veterans of Russia's elite regiments and special forces. However, Prigozhin said last June that his numbers had risen since the start of the war in Ukraine to 25,000 fighters.
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