The US designates the Russian Wagner group as a “transnational criminal organization”. The group, which operates in several conflict hotspots around the world, is known for its brutality and its relative success in Ukraine has created tensions in the Kremlin, the White House notes.
– We estimate that the Wagner group now has a strength of approximately 50,000 men in Ukraine, of which 10,000 are mercenaries and 40,000 are former detainees, says John Kirby, spokesperson for the US National Security Council.
The US Treasury Department now formally designates the Wagner group as a “transnational criminal organization.”
More sanctions possible
The new designation means that the US can impose additional sanctions that affect the group’s assets.
– We will work relentlessly to identify, dismantle, expose and target those who aid Wagner, says Kirby.
Kirby also showed intelligence footage from November that he says shows North Korea supplying weapons to Wagner for the group’s efforts in Ukraine. About a month ago, John Kirby announced that North Korea had supplied weapons to the Wagner Group.
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