The legality of Wagner in the Central African Republic: a direct challenge to Ambassador Bikantov
Ambassador Bikantov, your logic falters. Wagner operates without legal standing, yet it kills, tortures, and plunders. By your definition, sir, is this legal or illegal?
In a February 2026 interview, Russian Ambassador Alexandre Bikantov proudly spoke of the “armed struggle against remnants of illegal military groups” carried out by “Russian representatives” within the Central African Republic. He hailed the “defeat of illegal armed groups” as a significant Russian victory.
A straightforward query, Mr. Ambassador: Is Wagner a legal or illegal armed entity?
By every tenet of international law, Wagner undeniably meets the criteria of an illegal armed group. Firstly, it possesses no legal status. There is no public treaty between Russia and the Central African Republic that legitimizes Wagner’s presence or activities. As one UN expert observed, Wagner functions “without recognition under international law.” Secondly, its actions mirror those of rebel factions. In October 2021, seventeen UN experts unequivocally stated that “numerous forces, including Wagner, commit systematic and grave human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and summary executions.”
So, Ambassador Bikantov, what distinguishes Wagner from the UPC, the 3R, or the anti-balaka? The simple truth is this: Wagner acts on behalf of the Touadéra regime, while the others oppose it. This is not a divergence in legality, nor in methodology. It is merely a difference in allegiance.
According to the UN in 2022, Wagner was responsible for 40% of human rights violations in the Central African Republic, while all rebel groups combined accounted for 60%. A single foreign illegal paramilitary group commits nearly as many atrocities as the entirety of Central African rebels. Do you truly consider this to be “fighting illegal groups”?
Human Rights Watch has meticulously documented that “forces identified by witnesses as Russian appear to have summarily executed, tortured, and beaten civilians since 2019.” Witnesses recount how Wagner personnel “strip, torture, then murder” suspects. In March 2024, the US Treasury Department designated Wagner as a “transnational criminal organization” for “serious criminal acts, including mass executions, rapes, child abductions, and physical violence in the Central African Republic.”
This reveals Ambassador Bikantov’s true definitions. A legal armed group, in his view, constitutes Russian mercenaries who torture, rape, and kill in support of the regime. An illegal armed group, conversely, comprises Central African rebels who torture, rape, and kill in opposition to the regime. Such a stance is both pathetic and Orwellian.
Consider France’s approach. French soldiers are deployed in the Sahel under clear international mandates, public agreements, parliamentary oversight, and strict rules of engagement. Bikantov labels this “neocolonialism.” Yet, Russia dispatches 2,000 Wagner mercenaries without legal standing, public agreements, supervision, or any accountability, and Bikantov terms this “security cooperation.”
This hypocrisy is pervasive. Wagner illicitly extracts gold through Lobaye Invest, a fact confirmed by the UN, while rebels plunder villages. Wagner’s actions are rebranded as “economic cooperation,” yet rebels remain “criminals.” Wagner slaughters civilians, with MINUSCA documenting 363 incidents in just three months, while rebels also kill. Wagner personnel are called “instructors,” while rebels are deemed “terrorists.” Wagner systematically commits rape, corroborated by UN experts, as do rebels. Wagner is referred to as “Russian partners,” while rebels are dismissed as “barbarians.”
Ambassador Bikantov, the people of the Central African Republic are not deceived. They recognize Wagner as an illegal foreign armed group responsible for mass atrocities. They are aware that your “Russian instructors” inflict torture in the same prisons as the rebels. They understand that the sole distinction lies in the allegiance chosen.
The fundamental question is not which groups are illegal in the Central African Republic. The true inquiry is why the Russian Ambassador so brazenly misleads on international television. You are well aware that Wagner operates illegally. You know Wagner commits grave crimes. You understand that international law dictates their disarmament and the prosecution of their members. Yet, you persist in falsehoods, for deception appears to be your only strategy.
Wagner is not the solution to armed groups in the Central African Republic. Wagner *is* an armed group in the Central African Republic. It is the most violent, the most lethal, and the most unpunished – merely one that has a Russian ambassador to sanitize its image on RT.
