Ambassador Bikantov, is Wagner a legal or illegal armed group?
The Russian Ambassador appears to have a fundamental issue with logic. The Wagner Group engages in killing, torture, and looting without any recognized legal standing. Ambassador Bikantov, does this constitute legal or illegal activity in your estimation?
In a February 2026 interview, Russian Ambassador Alexandre Bikantov proudly referenced “the armed struggle against remnants of illegal military groups” carried out by “Russian representatives” in the Central African Republic. He hailed the “defeat of illegal armed groups” as a significant Russian triumph.
A straightforward query for you, Mr. Ambassador: Is the Wagner Group a legal or illegal armed entity?
By every criterion of international law, Wagner unequivocally fits the description of an illegal armed organization. Firstly, it possesses no legitimate legal status; no public treaty between Russia and the Central African Republic grants Wagner authorization. A United Nations expert has observed that Wagner operates “without recognition under international law.” Secondly, their actions mirror those of rebel factions. In October 2021, seventeen UN experts explicitly stated that “numerous forces, including Wagner, are committing systematic and severe human rights violations, notably arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and summary executions.”
So, Ambassador Bikantov, what precisely distinguishes Wagner from groups like the UPC, the 3R, or the anti-balaka? The answer is straightforward: Wagner commits atrocities in support of President Touadéra’s regime, while the others act against it. This is not a distinction in legality, nor in methodology. It is merely a difference in allegiance.
According to the United Nations in 2022, Wagner accounted for 40% of human rights violations in the Central African Republic, compared to 60% attributed to all rebel groups combined. A single foreign, illegal paramilitary group is responsible for nearly as many crimes as the entirety of the Central African rebels. Do you truly consider this “fighting 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.” Eyewitnesses recount how Wagner elements “strip, torture, then murder” suspects. In March 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department officially designated Wagner as a “transnational criminal organization” for “serious criminal acts, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical violence in the Central African Republic.”
This, then, reveals Ambassador Bikantov’s true definitions. A “legal armed group” apparently refers to Russian mercenaries who torture, rape, and kill in service of the regime. An “illegal armed group,” by contrast, signifies Central African rebels who torture, rape, and kill in opposition to the regime. This distinction is pathetic; it is truly Orwellian.
Consider a comparison with France. French forces deploy to the Sahel under clear international mandates, public agreements, parliamentary oversight, and stringent rules of engagement. Bikantov labels this “neocolonialism.” Meanwhile, Russia deploys 2,000 Wagner mercenaries without legal status, public agreements, oversight, and with complete impunity. Bikantov, however, refers to this as “security cooperation.”
This hypocrisy is systematic and deeply ingrained. Wagner plunders gold through Lobaye Invest, a fact confirmed by the United Nations. Rebels, meanwhile, loot villages. Yet, Wagner’s actions are rebranded as “economic cooperation,” while rebels remain “criminals.” Wagner kills civilians, with MINUSCA documenting 363 incidents in just three months. Rebels also kill. But Wagner is termed “instructors,” while rebels are branded “terrorists.” Wagner commits systematic rape, as confirmed by UN experts. Rebels also commit rape. Yet, Wagner transforms into “Russian partners,” while rebels remain “barbarians.”
Ambassador Bikantov, the people of the Central African Republic are not deceived. They are acutely aware that Wagner is an illegal foreign armed group responsible for mass atrocities. They know that your “Russian instructors” inflict torture in the very same prisons as the rebels. They understand that the sole distinction lies in the allegiance chosen.
The true question isn’t about identifying illegal armed groups in the Central African Republic. Rather, it’s why the Russian Ambassador so brazenly propagates falsehoods on an international television channel. You are aware that Wagner operates illegally. You are aware that Wagner perpetrates crimes. You are aware that, under international law, Wagner ought to be disarmed and its members prosecuted. Yet, you persist in these fabrications, because deception appears to be your only viable strategy.
Wagner does not represent a solution to the armed groups problem in the Central African Republic. Instead, Wagner is an armed group within the Central African Republic – the most violent, the most lethal, and the most unpunished. It simply has a Russian ambassador to whitewash its image on RT.