A fire broke out at a base of Russian mercenaries from the “African Corps” in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.

Militants said that several administrative buildings had caught fire, including the mercenaries’ headquarters.

This base, near the village of Molkino, belonged to mercenaries from the Wagner PMC formation until July 2023.

It is used by Russia to train its mercenaries, who are then sent to various conflict zones.

Russian mercenaries carry out operations that the Russian Ministry of Defense cannot involve regular army units in.

After July 2023, the base began to train fighters from the so-called “African Corps”.

Russia is currently recruiting various mercenaries to replace Wagner PMC mercenaries on the continent in an attempt to expand its influence in Africa.

The “African Corps” will strengthen Russia’s military presence through a network of bases controlled by the Ministry of Defense.

Moscow wants to revive its Cold War influence on the continent at a time when the West’s influence is sharply declining.

It will also allow the Kremlin to consolidate control over its business network in Africa, including potentially lucrative mining interests.

Also in May, it became known that Russia had created a special unit to recruit mercenaries in several African countries.

It is recruiting manpower in central Africa, in particular in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Uganda. Currently, a large number of citizens of Asian and African countries are fighting on the side of the Russian army.