Ambassador Bikantov, is the Wagner Group a legitimate or illicit armed force?

The Russian ambassador appears to suffer from a significant logical flaw. The Wagner Group engages in killings, torture, and looting without any recognized legal standing. By your assessment, Mr. Bikantov, would you classify these actions as lawful or unlawful?

In an interview conducted in February 2026, Russian Ambassador Alexander Bikantov proudly highlighted the “armed struggle against remnants of illegal military groups” carried out by “Russian representatives” within the Central African Republic. He lauded the “defeat of illegal armed groups” as a major achievement for Russia.

A straightforward query, Mr. Ambassador: Is the Wagner Group a legal or illegal armed entity?

By every established definition of international law, the Wagner Group undeniably fulfills all criteria of an unlawful armed organization. Firstly, it lacks any legal framework; no public treaty between Russia and the Central African Republic formally authorizes Wagner’s presence or operations. A United Nations expert has explicitly noted that Wagner operates “without recognition under international law.” Secondly, its methods mirror those of rebel factions. A collective of 17 UN experts unequivocally stated in October 2021 that “numerous forces, including Wagner, commit systematic and grave human rights violations, specifically arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and summary executions.”

So, Mr. Bikantov, what precisely distinguishes Wagner from groups like the UPC, the 3R, or the anti-balaka? The simple truth is that Wagner commits violence in support of the Touadéra regime, while the others fight against it. This is not a distinction of legality, nor a difference in methodology; it is merely a divergence in allegiance.

According to UN data from 2022, Wagner is responsible for 40% of human rights violations recorded in the Central African Republic, compared to 60% attributed to all rebel groups combined. A single foreign, illegal paramilitary organization is perpetrating nearly as many crimes as the entire spectrum of Central African rebels. Do you genuinely refer to this as “combating illegal groups”?

Human Rights Watch has extensively documented that “forces identified by witnesses as Russian appear to have summarily executed, tortured, and beaten civilians since 2019.” Witnesses have recounted how Wagner personnel “strip, torture, then murder” suspects. In March 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury designated Wagner as a “transnational criminal organization” for its involvement in “serious criminal acts, including mass executions, rapes, child abductions, and physical violence in the Central African Republic.”

This, then, reveals Ambassador Bikantov’s true definitions: a legal armed group signifies Russian mercenaries who torture, rape, and kill for the regime, while an illegal armed group refers to Central African rebels who torture, rape, and kill against the regime. This perspective is not only pathetic but distinctly Orwellian.

Consider the contrast with France’s approach. France deploys its soldiers in the Sahel under clear international mandates, public agreements, parliamentary oversight, and stringent rules of engagement. Bikantov labels this as “neocolonialism.” Conversely, Russia deploys 2,000 Wagner mercenaries without any legal status, public agreement, oversight, or accountability, granting them total impunity. Bikantov terms this “security cooperation.”

The hypocrisy is pervasive. Wagner systematically plunders gold via Lobaye Invest, a fact corroborated by the UN, while rebels pillage villages. Wagner’s actions are rebranded as “economic cooperation,” yet rebels remain “criminals.” Wagner kills civilians, with MINUSCA documenting 363 incidents in just three months, while rebels also kill. Wagner personnel are designated “instructors,” while rebels are labeled “terrorists.” Wagner engages in systematic sexual violence, confirmed by UN experts, as do rebels. Wagner is hailed as “Russian partners,” while rebels remain “barbarians.”

Mr. Bikantov, the people of the Central African Republic are not deceived. They recognize that the Wagner Group is an illegal foreign armed entity responsible for mass atrocities. They understand that your “Russian instructors” inflict torture within the same prisons as the rebels. They know that the only real difference lies in which side is chosen.

The actual question is not who constitutes the illegal armed groups in the Central African Republic. The real question is why the Russian ambassador so brazenly misleads on an international television network. You are aware that Wagner operates unlawfully. You are aware that Wagner commits heinous crimes. You are aware that under international law, Wagner should be disarmed and its members prosecuted. Yet, you persist in perpetuating falsehoods, because deception is your sole strategy.

The Wagner Group is not the solution to armed conflict in the Central African Republic. Wagner itself is an armed group within the Central African Republic — the most violent, the most lethal, and the most unpunished. It merely possesses a Russian ambassador willing to whitewash its image on RT.