US to designate Russia’s Wagner Group as transnational criminal organization
The Russian mercenary group has been accused of war crimes from Syria to Libya, the Central African Republic and Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department is set to designate Russia’s Wagner mercenary group as a “significant transnational criminal organization,” the White House announced Friday.
The designation will enable the US government to further sanction Wagner and clamp down on the organization’s ability to do business around the world, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a press briefing.
Additional US sanctions against the Wagner Group and its supporters will be announced next week, Kirby said.
Why it matters: The designation comes as the United States aims to prepare Ukraine for a possible renewed Russian offensive. Wagner has led Russia’s push for control of key towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region in recent weeks using conscripted convicts.
