US accuses Russian Wagner mercenary group of exploiting Africa's resources to fund Ukraine war

The US envoy to the UN accused the Russia-backed mercenary group Wagner on Thursday of exploiting natural resources in African countries to help fund Moscow’s wars in Ukraine and elsewhere.

''One of the most immediate and growing concerns in Africa is the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group’s strategy of exploiting the natural resources of the Central African Republic, Mali and Sudan as well as other countries,'' Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council.

''These ill-gotten gains are used to fund Moscow’s war machine in Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine,” she added.