Wagner operatives are understood to be involved in more than 20 countries and have played a key role in most of the world’s major conflicts, most recently during the Syrian civil war, before being dispatched to support the Russian-backed Libyan National Army.

Intelligence experts have also accused the Russian mercenary group of being behind serious breaches of human rights in many of the countries they operate in including murders, rapes and kidnapping.

Western security officials now fear Wagner, run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of President Putin, is being used as a proxy army in Africa on behalf of the Russian leader, to further his imperialist ambitions.

“For Russia this is a good tool in terms of all the hybrid tools, including disinformation,” an EU official said. “Using a proxy, which can stimulate unrest or advance Russian interests in the battlegrounds for influence.”

Brussels and Moscow have sparred over the Wagner Group’s presence in West Africa, leading to EU sanctions on the firm and its associates.

Tensions are at their highest in Mali, where the Russian mercenaries are being paid by the country’s military junta in the wake of two recent coups and a decision to delay elections.