Francisco José Matías Bueno, author at Ejercitos Magazine

Part of the casualties of Wagner Group and the Malian Army after the Tuareg ambush. Source: Telegram.

Wagner Apocalypse

04/08/2024 Francisco José Matías Bueno

Wagner's missions in Africa have been characterized as relatively successful for the personnel of this parastatal army, except in the case of Cabo Delgado, in Mozambique. Africa, in fact, has been a quiet destination for these mercenaries, until at the end of July, Wagner's greatest military disaster to date began to unfold, with the exception of what happened during the battle of Khasam, in Syria, on the 7th. and February 8, 2018. With the difference that on this occasion, after the Tuareg ambush on the Russian mercenaries, access to devices such as Starlink has allowed the networks to be flooded with images of the carnage perpetrated in the Adrar of the Ifoghas . Index Introduction The Russian presence in Mali The military coup: the conditions are created for Russia's entry into Mali Africa Corps or Wagner? Context of the armed conflict in Mali [Keep reading…]

Russian artillery

23/01/2022 Francisco José Matías Bueno

If the conventional military muscle is one of the most important instruments of Russian foreign policy, especially when it comes to increasing its international influence, within that muscle, artillery plays a preponderant role. Russian artillery is of vital importance for Moscow, as predicted by the percentage of casualties caused by this weapon in the most recent conflicts in which Russia has been involved. In the case of Ukraine, it is estimated that this has reached 80%. The conclusion reached by the Russian analyzes regarding what was observed in these confrontations is that, of the three components that they consider constitutive of combat operations - fire, attack and maneuver - fire is not only the key, but its importance has increased. Even the preponderance of aviation is supported by the North American experience in 2003, in which [Keep reading…]

Wagner Group exposed in Libya

14/08/2021 Francisco José Matías Bueno

On August 11, the BBC published what clearly promised to be a bombshell: an investigation based on information found on the electronic tablet of a Russian mercenary from the Wagner Group in Libya. This had been abandoned on the Tripoli battlefield by its owner during a retreat. Far from containing truly new information about the practices or means of the Russian company, the truth is that the documents found have only served to demonize once again a practice - that of the use of mercenaries -, of undoubted usefulness but criticizable for various reasons, such as the lack of transparency, political control or accountability. Of course, both the BBC article and the documentary in which the information is expanded have the main purpose of denouncing the use of mercenaries by Russia in several countries at war, and [Keep reading…]

The Battle of Palma

14/04/2021 Francisco José Matías Bueno

The Battle of Palma has marked a turning point in the activities of the al-Shabaab group in Mozambique. A year ago we wrote about the unfortunate adventure of Russian mercenaries in Mozambican lands. Since then the situation has only gotten worse. So much so that a rescue by sea, the only safe route, was needed for the thousands of people fleeing the city of Palma, taken by the al-Shabaab insurgency. The Western media has quickly described it as a new "Dunkirk", due to the similarities with Operation Dynamo, although the scale is different. However, what happened, in addition to being spectacular, is very worrying and predicts a complicated future for the southeastern African region. We tell you what has happened and the context surrounding this disaster. As is to be expected in a problem as complex as that of the Cabo insurgency [Keep reading…]

Wagner Group fights in the Central African Republic

09/01/2021 Francisco José Matías Bueno

The presence of Wagner Group in Africa is no longer new. In fact, it doesn't stop growing. The recent presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic have led to a series of military operations by various rebel groups in order to prevent them. This would be another chapter within the conflictive country, if it were not for the presence of an unusual actor in this region: Russia. Specifically, from the mercenary company Wagner Group. Initially intended only to train the country's forces, for the first time we have had graphic evidence of their participation in combat actions, just as they have done before in Ukraine, Syria and Libya. Russian interest in the Central African Republic is relatively recent and is largely due - as in other scenarios, such as the Middle East - to the opportunity that arose after the relative withdrawal of [Keep reading…]

New Russian naval base in Sudan? Russia fights to return to the Indian Ocean

16/11/2020 Francisco José Matías Bueno

On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, a document was published on the official website of the Russian Government, pending presidential ratification, of utmost importance for Russian foreign strategy. The text included a proposal for an agreement intended for the government of Sudan that, if materialized, would culminate in the opening of a permanent Russian naval base in the Red Sea. It is therefore necessary to analyze the context in which the news occurred, the possible motivations of the Kremlin and the foreseeable consequences of this movement. The published document is an essential first step, which still has many steps left before it becomes a reality. Firstly, within the Russian Federation itself, it must have the approval of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin - something that is taken for granted. Subsequently, in Sudan, it needs the support of the transitional government currently in power, which is not so certain given [Keep reading…]

The Libyan war: a proxy war

01/11/2020 Francisco José Matías Bueno

The Libyan war, even after the recent peace agreements that have yet to be consolidated and proven valid, is undoubtedly one of the most complex of the 21st century. Especially in the field of politics, both internal and external, since it has a clear impact on the field of war. What's more, there are so many interests of third powers, from Turkey to the United Arab Emirates and from France or Italy to Russia, that the Libyan war can only be classified as a proxy war. As we say, the first point that makes the Libyan war a complex conflict is the high number of countries involved in the conflict, and, what is more, with the capacity to influence unilaterally. The latter is very important, since each one has the capacity to pursue their interests, destabilizing the area even more, even if there is some coordination of efforts in favor of [Keep reading…]

Tactical developments in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia

06/10/2020 Francisco José Matías Bueno

The current war that Armenia and Azerbaijan are experiencing is not an exact copy of the limited combats of this summer, or of previous clashes, but rather we are witnessing confrontations and operations of much larger magnitude, with more ambitious objectives on the Azeri side and with a much greater deployment of media, both in number and variety. Throughout the next few lines we will analyze the main tactical developments of this conflict, some of which are an evolution of what was seen in Ukraine, Syria or Libya... [Keep reading…]

Russia vs USA. The battle of the calibers

01/09/2020 Francisco José Matías Bueno

Can the beginning of this new era, characterized by competition between great powers, affect the increase in the caliber of the guns of armored vehicles? The truth is that yes, and in fact, in recent years there has been a clear trend towards the adoption of increasingly powerful calibers (40, 50, 57 mm), as part of a competition carried out mainly by Russia and the USA. .and which the rest of the countries should take note of, as it will mark the future of armored warfare. [Keep reading…]

The battle for Sirte and the entry of Egypt into Libya

15/07/2020 Francisco José Matías Bueno

The last few months have been very turbulent for the situation of the Libyan war. The offensive to take Tripoli launched by Haftar in April 2019 failed despite the little territory that the GNA (Government of National Accord) already possessed. Turkey's participation after the signing of the agreement on the distribution of economic exclusion zones between the Government of Tripoli and Ankara has been key to turning the situation around. Through a wide deployment of Bayraktar TB2 drones, the establishment of a no-fly zone thanks to the Hawk air defense systems, and the Gabya class frigates, and numerous material in the form of vehicles, artillery and ammunition, they managed to give the turn of the situation, the siege of Tripoli failing. The militias of the Tripoli government (GNA) conquered a lot of territory until they reached Sirte, where they established the red line [Keep reading…]