Niger coup
This is Wagner modus operandi all over," said Joana de Deus Pereira, a Russia specialist at British defence think-tank the Royal United Services Institute. The low attendance at the Africa summit might be a PR failure for Russia, but it would be a mistake to underestimate Putin's tenacity, she added. "For Putin, this [Africa campaign] is a marathon, most probably an Iron Man race — you struggle, you fight, you endure," she said.
