EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday he expected Russia's mercenary Wagner Group to remain operational in Africa despite its leader's death in a plane crash.

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\"I'm sure they'll quickly find a replacement for the late Wagner leader. They will remain operational in Africa because it is the armed wing of Russia,\" Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU defense ministers in Toledo, Spain.

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He added Moscow could not send regular troops to the region as that would be too egregious.

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\"They (Wagner) will continue to serve Putin and do what they do, which is certainly not contributing to peace in the Sahel or defending rights and freedoms in the Sahel.\"

"} 59:["$5a","$5b","$5c","$5d"] 58:{"paragraphs":"$59","bodyHtmlDecode":"EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday he expected Russia's mercenary Wagner Group to remain operational in Africa despite its leader's death in a plane crash.\"I'm sure they'll quickly find a replacement for the late Wagner leader. They will remain operational in Africa because it is the armed wing of Russia,\" Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU defense ministers in Toledo, Spain.He added Moscow could not send regular troops to the region as that would be too egregious.\"They (Wagner) will continue to serve Putin and do what they do, which is certainly not contributing to peace in the Sahel or defending rights and freedoms in the Sahel.\""} 53:{"articleID":756886,"languageCode":"en","friendlyUrl":"/breaking-news/article-756886","title":"EU top diplomat sees Russia's Wagner Group staying operational in Africa","socialTitle":"EU top diplomat sees Russia's Wagner Group staying operational in Africa","teaser":"","keyWords":"","category":"$54","image":"$55","isPublish":true,"publishDate":"2023-08-30T17:23:30","publishedDate":"AUGUST 30, 2023 17:23","lastUpdateDate":"2023-08-30T17:23:30","lastUpdatedDate":"AUGUST 30, 2023 17:23","creator":"