A Russian private military company deployed to Burkina Faso in West Africa, is reportedly returning to help defend the Kursk region from Ukrainian advances. Authorities of Russia's Kursk region say they are establishing a special volunteer unit to “maintain law and order” in territories that border the areas currently under the control of Ukraine's Armed Forces“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).
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.
The authorities of Russia's Kursk region say they will establish a special volunteer unit to “maintain law and order” in territories that border the areas currently under the control of Ukraine's Armed Forces, regional governor Alexei Smirnov announced on Thursday, Aug. 29. The unit will be called “Bars-Kursk.”
“The main function of the unit is to ensure security in eight evacuated districts, as well as in other areas of the Kursk region,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
He noted that volunteers who sign a contract will undergo training and receive weapons. The contract will be for six months, with their current employment and work schedule preserved.“The unit's tasks are not limited to ensuring security but also include participating in the life support of evacuated areas to help those who remain during this difficult period,” Smirnov added.
He also said that all actions of the Kursk region volunteers will be coordinated with the army and the so-called “counter-terrorist operation” headquarters.
On Aug. 6, Ukraine launched an offensive into Russia's less-fortified Kursk region, surprising Moscow and forcing Russian conscripts into battle to try to contain Kyiv’s progress.
The Kremlin responded by declaring a counter-terrorist operation in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions. However, Ukrainian forces have continued their offensive, which shows no signs of slowing down.
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