After Putin’s cook, will his poisoner take over? A few days after the death ofYevgeny PrigozhinGeneral Andrei Averianov, commander of the Russian spies and man of the base works of Vladimir Poutine, could take the lead of the Wagner mercenary group in Africa. According to British and Ukrainian intelligence sources interviewed by the British media I, Andrei Averianov is even suspected of being behind the death of the head of Wagner. Difficult to know more about his level of involvement. Would the Kremlin have rewarded him?
Let’s rewind a bit: Andrei Averianov graduated in 1988 from the military academy in Tashkent, in what was then called the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. From 2013 to 2019, he found himself at the head of unit 29155 of the GRU, Russian military intelligence. A prestigious position. His unit, which conducts operations on foreign soil on the orders of Vladimir Putin, is steeped in multiple assassinations and interference campaigns abroad. General Averianov has therefore been evolving for a long time in the shadow of the Kremlin. His first public appearance dates from the end of last July, during the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg. We discover him exchanging with Malian officials at Poutine’s table.
Regarding his preoccupation with human rights, Averianov has nothing to envy his compatriot Prigojine. His unit responsible for the base works of Russian power notably distinguished itself, in 2018, with the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal, in Salisbury, in the United Kingdom. Four years earlier, Unit 29155 blew up two ammunition depots in the Czech Republic. An episode that will cost the lives of two people. In 2021, the head of the Czech government announced that the involvement of Averianov’s unit was “highly probable”.
Several crimes to his credit
The unit is also linked to a similar assassination attempt against a Bulgarian arms trafficker in 2015 and is believed to be responsible for a campaign of destabilization in Moldova. She was also involved in a failed pro-Serb coup in Montenegro in 2016, in which then-prime minister Milo Dukanovic survived an assassination attempt. Unit 29155 is notably known in Russia as “training center 161”. Indeed, many future Russian spies are trained under the direction of General Averianov. His unit provided many cadres to the Wagner militia. The power uses this unit of the GRU to spread its strategy of terror in Europe.
According to the revelations of World, Andreï Averianov would have had rear bases in Haute-Savoie and Ain. “It is from here that they launched their operations throughout Europe until 2018”, underline our colleagues. In 2015, the head of unit 29155 was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, in particular for his participation in the operation to annex Crimea.
What would change the arrival of Andreï Averianov at the head of Wagner in Africa? First of all, it would strengthen the power of the master of the Kremlin and prevent him from losing his influence on the continent. In addition to geopolitical issues – marked by his desire to drive France out of Africa – Putin could get his hands on the gains of the militia. The paramilitary organization charges for example more than 10 million dollars per month the presence of his mercenaries to the Malian authorities, according to Reuters. In four years, the Wagner Group reportedly earned $250 million from mining on the continent alone. A financial windfall which the Kremlin badly needs to continue its war in Ukraine and survive the sanctions of the European Union.