Russia and Ukraine

[Pat Mustard]

 
So Putin is cleverly reclaiming this ancient legacy to establish itself more in all of these countries.

Not really.  A number of African countries turned to Ruzzia to kick out the French and ISIS and are now finding that the cure is worse than the disease, a lot worse.  Turns out Wagner is hitting a lot of loyalist communities, because they're easier to hit than rebel held ones and the quid pro quo is very onerous, far more so than the French had imposed previously.

Plus it's becoming increasingly evident that even if Ruzzia did actually want to fight ISIS and prop up the African regimes, it does not have the means to do so.