Languages: DeutschLuc Michel, a 65-year-old self-described ‘Stalinist’ whose resume includes founding a Belgian version of the National Front, has been revealed as the unlikely source of an elaborate network of fake news websites designed to spread pro-Russian propaganda across Africa. Last year, the German government stated that it would start pulling out troops from the Sahel by mid-2023 and completely withdraw its soldiers by May 2024,In the meantime, the military regimes in Mali and Burkina Faso have stepped up their diplomatic contacts with Russia, and the increasingly influential Wagner Group, which has a significant and growing presence in the Sahel region. He has also been part of online campaigns to legitimise unofficial plebiscites in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories