Russia to send up to 30 troops to Central African Republic to support UN missions
Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed an order allowing for “up to 30 military servicemembers” to be deployed to the Central African Republic (CAR) for the purpose of supporting UN peacekeeping missions. The document states that communications officers, staff specialists, and military observers could be among those deployed.
Putin also ordered five Russian soldiers to be deployed to peacekeeping missions in Cyprus.
Russia and the CAR
A civil war has been ongoing in the CAR since 2012. Various sources have reported in recent years that Russian mercenaries associated with the Wagner private military company have been working in the country as military instructors. Three Russian journalists who were investigating the Wagner PMC’s role in the region were killed in the CAR in July of 2018.