Wagner Group Designated by U.S. as Transnational Criminal Group
U.S. imposed sanctions against the military infrastructure it says supports Russia’s battlefield operations in Ukraine
image from article: A man wearing a camouflage uniform walks out of PMC Wagner Centre.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions against the military infrastructure it says is supporting Russia’s battlefield operations in Ukraine, ramping up pressure on the Kremlin as the war enters its next phase.
The U.S. took action Thursday against Russian private military group Wagner Group, designating it as a significant transnational criminal organization over its actions in combat operations in Ukraine on behalf of President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. Treasury Department said Wagner Group personnel also are involved in alleged ongoing criminal activity, including mass executions, rape and physical abuse in the Central African Republic and Mali.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which implements U.S. sanctions, on Thursday targeted a total of eight individuals, 16 entities and four aircraft that aimed to cut into the Kremlin’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine. The Wagner Group’s global military support network is also being sanctioned, including a technology company that supplied images from space and an aviation firm.
Businesses within Russia’s defense industrial complex, including a Russian cargo airlines company and a Russian state-owned missile defense systems production firm, are also on Thursday’s sanctions list.
The U.S. State Department, in a concurrent action with the Treasury that targets Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, also designated five entities and one person linked to the Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. The State Department said it is also imposing visa restrictions on 531 members of the Russian Federation’s military for their alleged actions in Ukraine.
Mr. Kirby said Friday that the U.S. assesses the Wagner Group has about 50,000 personnel fighting in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts that the company has recruited from prisons.
The Wagner Group, the paramilitary force formed by the man known as “Putin’s chef” for his Kremlin-linked catering business, already faces sanctions from the U.S. in 2017 over its involvement in Ukraine.
The Wagner Group has already been sanctioned by Canada, Australia, Japan, the U.K. and the European Union. The Treasury Department also blacklisted Mr. Prigozhin in 2018 for his alleged involvement in interfering with U.S. elections.
Mr. Prigozhin claimed last week that his soldiers had taken control of Klishchiivka, a town on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Representatives for Wagner Group didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This latest round of sanctions blocks all property held by the individuals and entities under U.S. jurisdiction and bars U.S. companies and individuals from transacting business with them.
The sanctions come as the U.S. and Germany outlined plans Wednesday to send dozens of modern battle tanks to Ukraine, marking a significant new infusion in Western assistance for Kyiv while raising challenges about how to get enough of the potent weaponry to the battlefield in time as Ukraine and Russia prepare new offensives.
The White House said that it would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, while Germany said it would provide 14 Leopard 2 main battle tanks and allow other European nations to provide dozens more of the German-made tanks.
President Biden said the tanks would “enhance the Ukrainians’ capacity to defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives.”
Write to Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com
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Appeared in the January 27, 2023, print edition as 'Wagner Group Hit With U.S. Sanctions.'
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[jb] Image and text from Wikipedia
In 2021, the Foreign Policy report noted the origin of the name "Wagner" to be unknown.[53] Others say the group's name comes from Utkin's [JB on Utkin, see ] own call sign "Wagner", reportedly after the German composer Richard Wagner, which Utkin is said to have chosen due to his passion for the Third Reich (Wagner being Adolf Hitler's favorite composer).[81][82] As such, some believe he is a neo-Nazi,[83][84] with The Economist reporting that Utkin has several Nazi tattoos.[82] Members of Wagner Group say Utkin is a Rodnover, a believer of Slavic native faith.[85] Radio Liberty cited insiders as saying that the leadership of the Wagner Group are followers of the Slavic Native Faith, a modern Pagan new religious movement.[9] In August 2017, the Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak speculated that Utkin was possibly a figurehead for the company, while the real head of Wagner was someone else.[86]
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