SUCCESSION

Russian General Blamed for Salisbury Poisonings in Line to Command Wagner in Africa

Gen. Andrey Averyanov has been accused of ordering the deaths of Putin’s enemies abroad.

The Russian general linked to a 2018 nerve agent assassination operation in the U.K. is now in line to take over the African ventures of Wagner Group, according to reports. Maj. Gen. Andrey Averyanov, the head of covert offensive operations in Russia’s military intelligence service, has previously been accused by Western officials of ordering the murders of Vladimir Putin’s enemies overseas. Following the reported death of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin this week, current and former European security officials told The Wall Street Journal that Averyanov had been positioned to take over the mercenary group’s dealings in Africa. He had also publicly met Russia’s main allies on the continent during a St. Petersburg summit in July. According to Bellingcat, Averyanov helped to orchestrate the 2018 assassination attempt of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia using Novichok in Salisbury, England. Both Skripals survived, but a member of the public, Dawn Sturgess, died after the attack.