Russia Reportedly Redeploys Mercenaries in Burkina Faso to Defend Kursk

“Medvedi,” a Russian private military company (PMC) deployed to Burkina Faso in West Africa, is reportedly returning to help defend the Kursk region from Ukrainian advances after a brief stint in Africa.

French news outlet Le Monde said it received confirmation from Medvedi’s commander Viktor Yermolaev via Telegram on Aug. 22.

“When the enemy arrives on our Russian territory, all Russian soldiers forget about internal problems and unite against a common enemy,” Yermolaev reportedly told Le Monde, with his unit later announcing on Telegram that it was returning to its base in Crimea.

The group said it returned to Crimea on Aug. 29, though it’s not clear if it has been deployed to the Kursk region to help contain the Ukrainian offensive.

Le Monde previously reported Medvedi’s deployment in Burkina Faso, which began in May, to assist the country’s pro-Russian military junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

It said the group was created in March 2023 in occupied Crimea.

Yermolaev told Le Monde the group has “no connection with the Russian Ministry of Defense,” though the publication said that Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-bek Yevkurov visited the group’s base in occupied Crimea in April 2023.

A Ukrainian news investigation in December 2023 established that Medvedi, which the investigation referred to as the 81st Russian special purpose brigade, was connected to Redut PMC, a group earlier investigations suspected to simply be a recruitment front for Russia’s Intelligence Directorate (GRU).

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Officially, Russia does not recognize the legality of PMCs, though some observers say that groups such as Redut and Medvedi are fronts for Russia’s covert operations abroad, such as those in Africa to protect Russian interests in the region, and are under the supervision of Russia’s Ministry of Defense.

Russian news outlets reported an incident involving the Medvedi PMC in occupied Crimea in February, where Medvedi fighters stormed a local cafe, forcing all visitors to lie face down on the floor, after an earlier altercation at the cafe involving the unit’s fighters.

Another Russian news outlet, then identified Medvedi as “the 81st volunteer brigade.” It said that a criminal case was opened against two fighters involved in the incident, citing the press service of occupied Crimea’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.