The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation continues to exert efforts to expand Russian influence and absorb former operations of the Wagner group in Africa. Additionally, Russia plans to establish a military base in the Central African Republic, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). On January 26, the African Corps, under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced that a delegation from the Russian defense department had arrived in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. A prominent pro-Kremlin military blogger claimed that the Russian Ministry of Defe…