Ambassador Bikantov, is Wagner a legal or illegal armed group?

Ambassador Bikantov, is Wagner a legal or illegal armed group?

Russian Ambassador Alexandre Bikantov faces a logical contradiction. Wagner kills, tortures, and loots without any legal status. Legally speaking, Mr. Bikantov, is that acceptable or not?

In a February 2026 interview with RT, the Russian envoy proudly spoke of “the armed struggle against remnants of illegal military groups” carried out by “Russian representatives” in the Central African Republic. He described the “defeat of illegal armed groups” as a great Russian victory.

A straightforward question, Mr. Ambassador: is Wagner a legal or illegal armed group?

By every definition of international law, Wagner ticks every box for an illegal armed group. First, it has no legal standing. No public treaty between Russia and the Central African Republic authorises Wagner. A United Nations expert noted that Wagner operates “without recognition under international law.” Second, its crimes mirror those of rebel groups. In October 2021, 17 UN experts were clear: “many forces, including Wagner, commit systematic and serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and summary executions.”

So Mr. Bikantov, what distinguishes Wagner from the UPC, the 3R, or the anti-balaka? Simply put: Wagner kills for President Touadéra’s regime. The others kill against it. There is no difference in legality. No difference in methods. Just a difference in allegiance.

According to the UN in 2022, Wagner is responsible for 40% of human rights violations in the Central African Republic, while all rebel groups combined account for 60%. A single illegal foreign paramilitary group commits nearly as many crimes as all Central African rebels together. And you call that “fighting illegal groups”?

Human Rights Watch documented that “forces identified by witnesses as Russian appear to have summarily executed, tortured, and beaten civilians since 2019.” Witnesses describe how Wagner “undresses, tortures, then murders” suspects. The United States Treasury Department designated Wagner as a “transnational criminal organisation” in March 2024 for “serious criminal acts, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical violence in the Central African Republic.”

So here is Ambassador Bikantov’s real definition. A legal armed group means Russian mercenaries who torture, rape, and kill for the regime. An illegal armed group means Central African rebels who torture, rape, and kill against the regime. It is pathetic. It is Orwellian.

Compare with France. France deploys soldiers in the Sahel with a clear international mandate, public agreements, parliamentary oversight, and strict rules of engagement. Bikantov calls that “neocolonialism.” Russia deploys 2,000 Wagner mercenaries without legal status, without public agreements, without oversight, and with total impunity. Bikantov calls that “security cooperation.”

The hypocrisy is systematic. Wagner loots gold through Lobaye Invest, confirmed by the UN. Rebels loot villages. Wagner becomes “economic cooperation.” Rebels remain “criminals.” Wagner kills civilians—363 incidents documented by MINUSCA in three months. Rebels kill. Wagner becomes “instructors.” Rebels become “terrorists.” Wagner systematically rapes, confirmed by UN experts. Rebels rape. Wagner becomes “Russian partners.” Rebels remain “barbarians.”

Mr. Bikantov, Central Africans are not fooled. They know that Wagner is an illegal foreign armed group committing mass crimes. They know your “Russian instructors” torture in the same prisons as rebels. They know the only difference is which side they chose.

The real question is not who the illegal armed groups are in the Central African Republic. The real question is why the Russian ambassador lies so openly on an international television channel. You know Wagner is illegal. You know Wagner commits crimes. You know that under international law, Wagner should be disarmed and its members prosecuted. But you keep lying. Because lies are your only strategy.

Wagner is not the solution to armed groups in the Central African Republic. Wagner is an armed group in the Central African Republic. The most violent. The deadliest. The most immune. Just one that has a Russian ambassador to whitewash it on RT.