Russia preparing to redeploy Wagner fighters from Africa Corps to Belgorod region - ISW

That's according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrinform reports.

According to ISW analysts, an insider source claimed on April 15 that the Kremlin believes that Russian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Lieutenant General Andrei Averyanov failed to meet the Kremlin's deadlines to develop the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD)-controlled Africa Corps.

The insider source claimed that Russian authorities are preparing to redeploy unspecified detachments of the Africa Corps from Africa to the Belgorod region.

"The Wagner Group's ongoing efforts to recruit personnel for its activities in Africa are actually meant to recruit personnel to deploy to Belgorod Oblast. Russian Africa Corps soldiers deployed to Niger on April 12, and it is unclear if the insider source is claiming that the Africa Corps will cease operations in Africa completely or if only some Africa Corps detachments will redeploy to the Ukrainian-Russian border area," the report said.

ISW continues to assess that Russian forces are currently capitalizing on Ukrainian materiel shortages resulting from the lack of U.S. security assistance to make marginal tactical advances but that future Russian assaults may be able to achieve more significant and threatening gains, particularly west of Bakhmut, should the U.S. continue to withhold assistance to Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces' ability to repel recently intensified Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine has degraded due to materiel shortages and will likely continue to degrade in the near future should delays in U.S. security assistance continue