The Russian expansion strategy is also in Africa

The Russian strategy of garrisoning the areas it considers functional to its own interests does not only concern the territories located on its border, where it intends to apply its influence exclusively, but also other areas of the world, which have assumed particular international importance; this is the case of Africa, always at the center of attention, not only for the wealth of its resources, but also for the growing geostrategic importance in the global theater. This time the issue concerns the presence of Russian mercenaries, who have the secure approval of the Kremlin and, probably, act on its behalf, in the African countries of Mali, Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Mozambique and Burkina Faso. This increasingly cumbersome presence arouses much concern in Europe and especially in France, which has always been directly involved in these areas. The territory where the Russian mercenaries are present is that of the Sahel, where militias and adherents of the Islamic State are concentrated, which constitute an almost direct threat to the European continent and the Mediterranean. Controlling this area also means regulating migratory trafficking and using terrorism and the flow of migrants itself as a means of pressure on the European Union. Thus, we understand how the Russian presence is functional to exert pressure on US allies, both in general and in this particular moment, where the Ukrainian question is at the center of the scene. The evolution of relations between the coup junta of Mali and France has taken on particularly negative connotations, culminating in the expulsion of the highest representatives of Paris, the French ambassador. The French presence in Mali is substantial: there are about five thousand soldiers directly involved in fighting the presence of the militias of the Islamic state and this presence is considered strategic by both France and the European Union itself. France has repeatedly warned Mali of the need for greater attention to the presence of Islamic State adherents, however the military government, which took office after the coup, has shown that it does not like French policy at all, perceiving it as an interference in his own internal affairs, a circumstance that has led to suspect, if not a mixture with the radical militias, at least the will to use them as a means to oppose the French action, because in contrast with the presence of the coup government. Furthermore, the use of Russian militias, controlled by people close to President Putin, by the new Malian government, is a clear signal of where the foreign policy of the new African government wants to go. Even in Burkina Faso, where a coup has allowed the change of government recently, it seems that there is the presence of Russian mercenaries belonging to the same company present in Mali. This Russian strategy completes the action of the same mercenaries present for the longest time in Libya, Sudan and Central Africa, who carry out missions to guarantee the interests of Moscow in the region through the supply of weapons, training and military garrison to governments and also in support of non-governmental political factions, but which may be functional to the purposes of the Russian federation. This situation raises substantial questions about the effectiveness of the only diplomatic action chosen by Europe and which, by now, appears insufficient to protect its interests in the African region in the face of the emergence of international subjects, such as Russia and China, increasingly present and ready. not only to replace the Union, but also to exert direct pressure to condition its international attitude. The need for a European military force and a common foreign political action is becoming more and more urgent and necessary: ​​it is no longer the time to delay, on pain of political but also economic downsizing of the Union on the international stage.