Across Africa, Russia is growing in influence. What might Moscow want?

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra is being chaperoned by Kremlin -backed mercenaries in the conflict-ridden Central African Republic .

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with CAR 's president on Thursday in Moscow .

CAR rebels are yearning to oust the president, who has been backed by Russian mercenaries since 2018 .

Ivory Coast and Chad are the latest in a string of former French colonies in West and Central Africa to demand the withdrawal of Western forces from their territories.

CAR ’s army has battled to keep armed groups such as the CPC -F at bay and reclaim territory seized by rebels.

Statues honoring the late Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin , and top commander, Dmitry Utkin , were unveiled in Bangui in December .

Russia 's guns-for-hire mission is far from humanitarian, according to a Russian historian specializing in African history.

Human Rights Watch: Wagner 's alleged atrocities in Africa are widely reported.

CAR: "We are developing a new form of win-win cooperation with Russia " Russia : “We are purposefully developing our cooperation with African countries, including interaction in sensitive areas related to security” Russia and China are the main arms suppliers to sub-Saharan Africa .