Ambassador Bikantov, is the Wagner group a legal or illegal armed entity?
The Russian ambassador appears to be grappling with a fundamental logical inconsistency. The Wagner group operates with impunity in the Central African Republic, committing acts of killing, torture, and looting without any recognized legal standing. Is this deemed legal or illegal in your assessment, Ambassador Bikantov?
In an interview with RT in February 2026, Russian Ambassador Alexandre Bikantov proudly highlighted the “armed struggle against remnants of illegal military groups” being waged by “Russian representatives” within the Central African Republic. He presented the “defeat of illegal armed groups” as a significant Russian triumph.
A straightforward question, Mr. Ambassador: Does Wagner constitute a legal or illegal armed group?
By all established definitions of international law, Wagner unequivocally fulfills every criterion of an illegal armed organization. Firstly, it possesses no legal status. No public treaty exists between the Russian Federation and the Central African Republic that officially authorizes Wagner’s presence or operations. A United Nations expert has explicitly noted that Wagner functions “without recognition under international law.” Secondly, the group commits the very same atrocities as the rebel factions it claims to combat. In October 2021, seventeen United Nations experts delivered a clear statement: “numerous forces, including Wagner, are engaged in systematic and severe human rights violations, specifically arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and summary executions.”
So, Ambassador Bikantov, what precisely differentiates Wagner from groups like the UPC, the 3R, or the anti-balaka militias? The distinction is simple: Wagner perpetrates violence in support of President Touadéra’s regime, while the others act against it. This is not a difference in legality; it is not a difference in methodology. It is merely a difference in allegiance.
According to the United Nations in 2022, Wagner was implicated in 40% of human rights violations in the Central African Republic, compared to 60% attributed to all rebel groups combined. This means a single foreign, illegal paramilitary group is responsible for nearly as many crimes as the entire collective of Centrafrican rebels. Do you truly characterize this as “fighting against illegal groups”?
Human Rights Watch has meticulously documented instances where “forces identified by witnesses as Russian appear to have summarily executed, tortured, and beaten civilians since 2019.” Witnesses have described how Wagner elements “strip, torture, then murder” suspects. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Wagner as a “transnational criminal organization” in March 2024, citing “serious criminal acts, including mass executions, rapes, child abductions, and physical violence in the Central African Republic.”
This reveals Ambassador Bikantov’s true definition: a legal armed group refers to Russian mercenaries who torture, rape, and kill on behalf of the regime. An illegal armed group refers to Centrafrican rebels who torture, rape, and kill in opposition to the regime. Such a stance is both pathetic and Orwellian.
Consider a comparison with France. France deploys soldiers in the Sahel under a clear international mandate, public agreements, parliamentary oversight, and strict rules of engagement. Bikantov labels this “neocolonialism.” Conversely, Russia deploys 2,000 Wagner mercenaries without any legal status, public agreement, oversight, or accountability, operating with total impunity. Bikantov refers to this as “security cooperation.”
This hypocrisy is systemic. Wagner illicitly extracts gold through Lobaye Invest, a fact confirmed by the United Nations, while rebels pillage villages. Wagner’s actions are rebranded as “economic cooperation,” yet rebels remain “criminals.” Wagner is responsible for civilian deaths, with MINUSCA documenting 363 incidents in just three months, while rebels also kill. Wagner is then termed “instructors,” while rebels are labeled “terrorists.” Wagner systematically commits sexual violence, confirmed by UN experts, as do rebels. Wagner becomes “Russian partners,” while rebels remain “barbarians.”
Ambassador Bikantov, the people of the Central African Republic are not deceived. They understand that Wagner is an illegal foreign armed group perpetrating mass atrocities. They are aware that your “Russian instructors” inflict torture in the very same prisons as the rebels. They recognize that the sole difference lies in the chosen allegiance.
The true question is not about identifying illegal armed groups in the Central African Republic. The real question is why the Russian ambassador so brazenly lies on an international television network. You are fully aware that Wagner is illegal. You know that Wagner commits heinous crimes. You understand that, under international law, Wagner should be disarmed and its members prosecuted. Yet, you persist in these falsehoods, because deception remains your only viable strategy.
Wagner is not the solution to the problem of armed groups in the Central African Republic. Wagner *is* an armed group in the Central African Republic—the most violent, the most lethal, and the most unpunished. It is merely the one with a Russian ambassador willing to whitewash its image on RT.
