Russian warship docks at Sudan port in Africa for first time since Soviet Union collapse... Will military intervention increase?

Agreement on Naval Base Construction with Sudan Last November
Active Involvement in African Civil War Using Mercenary Forces

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] It has been reported that a Russian Black Sea Fleet warship has docked in Sudan, Africa, for the first time since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, raising expectations that Russia's military involvement in Africa will increase. Russia, led by mercenary companies such as the Wagner Group, known as President Vladimir Putin's private army, is deeply involved in civil wars in almost all African countries including Sudan, Kenya, and the Central African Republic.

According to Russian local media such as RIA Novosti, on the 28th of last month (local time), the 4,000-ton frigate "Admiral Grigorovich," belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, docked at the port city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, the Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet Public Relations Office announced that day. This is the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that a Russian warship has docked at a port in an African country. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has operated only one overseas naval base, a naval supply and technical support base in Tartus, Syria, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Earlier, Port Sudan has been the site for the construction of a Russian naval supply and technical support base under an agreement between Russia and Sudan in November last year. Russia is reportedly aiming to establish infrastructure at this base that can accommodate about 300 personnel and simultaneously berth four warships, including nuclear-powered vessels. The Russian government also plans to provide Sudan with weapons and air defense systems free of charge to defend this naval base.

Military experts predict that by securing a naval base in the Red Sea area, Russia will be able to gain control over the Suez Canal route, a major shipping lane responsible for 10% of global maritime transport. At the same time, the Sudan naval base is expected to help the Russian Navy expand its operational range into the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Since the Arab Spring in 2011, as instability in the Middle East and Africa worsened, Russia began deeply intervening in African civil wars. Russia has dispatched mercenary forces and provided weapons mainly to dictatorial countries in central and southern Africa such as Sudan, where the naval base is being constructed, the Central African Republic, Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Russian mercenary forces deployed in Africa are mainly composed of soldiers from the Wagner Group, Russia's largest mercenary company. The Wagner Group is a private military company operated by Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as a close associate of President Putin, and is reportedly covertly supplied with equipment by the Russian government forces.

Prigozhin is publicly known as Putin's personal chef and a businessman running catering and food service companies, but in reality, he is the actual owner of the Wagner Group and is said to be a key figure in the Putin regime, leading efforts such as interference in the U.S. presidential election, according to WSJ.