Russian mercenaries are being pulled from Africa to Eastern Europe as troops amass near Ukraine, report says

• Wagner Group mercenaries are leaving Africa en masse for Eastern Europe, The Daily Beast reported.
• The Wagner Group is reportedly funded by an ally of Vladimir Putin.

Russian mercenaries are being pulled from Africa and redeployed to Eastern Europe, as Moscow amasses forces at Ukraine's border, The Daily Beast reported.

Twenty soldiers with the Wagner Group, a private military organization that's been described as "Putin's private army," left the Central African Republic in January, with more preparing to leave, officials in the country told the outlet.

Officials said it was the first major withdrawal of mercenaries, who were hired by the CAR government, in more than four years. "It's the first time we are hearing that dozens have departed in a month," a military official said, per The Daily Beast.

An offshoot of the Wagner Group known as Task Force Rusich is also readying to infiltrate Ukraine, The Daily Beast previously reported.

As of Monday, Russia has sent more than 130,000 troops to Ukraine's borders, according to Ukraine's military. Moscow is also seeking "active recruitment of mercenaries," Ukrainian military intelligence service said last week.

The US is warning that Russia will invade soon, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly told President Joe Biden to tone down the scaremongering.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied plans to invading.

The US is providing Ukraine with millions of dollars in military aid, but has stopped short of promising to deploy ground forces in the event of an invasion.

Mercenary groups linked with Russia, like the Wagner Group, often appear in countries where Russia has skin in the game, but prefers to keep its political distance.

For example, according to Bellingcat, 200 Russian mercenaries were sent to Belarus, whose president is a Putin ally, to destabilize the country in the run-up to its August 2020 presidential election.

The Wagner Group group was founded by Dmitry Utkin, the former head of security for Putin-ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to CNN. Prigozhin is assumed to be the group's funder.