Jan 21 (Reuters) – The head of Russia’s private military contractor Wagner published a short letter to the White House on Saturday asking what crime his company was accused of after Washington announced new sanctions against the group.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Friday that Wagner, who has backed Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine and credited himself with progress on the battlefield, would be designated as a significant transnational criminal organization.
A letter in English, addressed to Kirby and posted on the Telegram channel of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s press office, reads: “Dear Mr. Kirby, can you clarify what crime PMC Wagner has committed?”
Kirby called Wagner “a criminal organization that commits widespread atrocities and human rights violations.”
Last month, the White House said Wagner received a shipment of weapons from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine.
An interior view shows the PMC Wagner Centre, which is a project implemented by businessman and founder of the private military group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in St Petersburg, Russia, November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Russak/File Photo
North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the report baseless, and Prigozhin at the time denied receiving such a delivery, calling the report “gossip and speculation”.
Washington had already imposed trade restrictions on Wagner in 2017 and again in December in an attempt to limit its access to arms.
The European Union imposed its own sanctions in December 2021 on Wagner, who is active in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Mozambique and Mali, as well as Ukraine.
Prigogine described Wagner as a completely independent force with its own planes, tanks, missiles and artillery.
He is wanted in the United States for meddling in the US election, something he said in November that he had done and would continue to do.
Written by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Helen Popper
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