No verified military presence in the DRC. Courted by Kinshasa: Tshisekedi attended the third Russia–Africa summit (Moscow, 28–29 Oct 2026), asked Putin to get involved in the Rwanda standoff and to back MONUSCO’s renewal at the UN Security Council; three cooperation accords were announced (health; economic, scientific and technical exchanges; vocational training for young Congolese through the ‘Alabuga Start’ programme, which recruits young Africans to work at the Alabuga drone plant in Tatarstan).
Origin: Russia
Recent (to 3 Nov 2026)
- 28 Oct 2026: Tshisekedi arrived in Moscow for the summit, with a bilateral with Putin, three cooperation accords and an honorary doctorate from RUDN (Patrice Lumumba) University (ACP, state news agency). At the close he asked Putin to get ‘absolutely’ involved in the Rwanda peace effort and to support MONUSCO’s renewal at the UN; no Russian response reported (Africanews/AFP, 31 Oct): https://www.africanews.com/2026/10/31/tshisekedi-seeks-putins-help-against-rwanda-backed-rebels/
- Influence: France’s VIGINUM (27 Oct 2026) reports that Andrey Gromov, a co-leader of the Russian influence front GlobUs, took part in an ‘election observation mission’ in the DRC in 2018; GlobUs is now most active in Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo.
Relationships
- Courted by: FARDC
- Subject of rumours: Wagner - Africa Corps (unconfirmed)