The Biden administration has labeled Russian mercenary group Wagner Group a “transnational criminal organization” and released satellite images of trains delivering missiles from North Korea
- White House spokesman John Kirby said Friday more sanctions would follow
- The US says Wagner has played an increasing role in Russia’s war in Ukraine
- Kirby released images showing a Russian train traveling to and from North Korea
- He said it was proof North Korea supplied missiles to Wagner
The White House announced on Friday that the US has labeled Russia’s Wagner Group a “transnational criminal organization,” paving the way for new sanctions against mercenaries accused of war crimes in Ukraine.
“These actions recognize the transcontinental threat that Wagner poses, including through his ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity,” John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told reporters.
“And there will be more to come.”
Official designation will come from the Treasury Department, he said, with further sanctions to follow next week.
The White House released satellite photos that allegedly showed missiles being shipped from North Korea to Russia’s Wagner Group
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby announced the appointment at the White House on Friday and promised more sanctions would follow
The designation freezes all of Wagner’s assets in the United States and prohibits American citizens from providing funds or services.
The announcement was accompanied by satellite images showing five Russian railway cars traveling from Russia to North Korea on November 18.
“And the next day, November 19, North Korea loaded those railcars with shipping containers and the train went back to Russia,” Kirby said.
This was believed to be the first delivery of North Korean missiles to Wagner, he said.
Western officials have repeatedly said Russia increasingly turned to Wagner for manpower and arms as its invasion faltered.
The company was founded in 2014 and is run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s Chef”.
The Biden administration estimates that Wagner deployed 50,000 people to Ukraine, including 40,000 convicts.
Wagner Group mercenaries fight in Ukraine. The White House said it has 50,000 staff there, 40,000 of whom were recruited from prisons
But that has led to increasing tensions between Wagner and Russia’s Defense Ministry, which has become concerned about its reliance on prisoners and the way it claims battlefield victories.
“Wagner is emerging as a rival center of power for the Russian military and other Russian ministries,” Kirby said, and the US has intelligence that suggests Russia’s Defense Ministry has “concerns” about Wagner’s heavy recruitment from Russian prisons.
“Wagner is becoming the rival center of power of the Russian military and other Russian ministries, Prigozhin and his fighters have publicly criticized Russian generals and defense officials for their performance on the battlefield.
“Prigozhin is trying to promote his own interest in Ukraine, and Wagner makes military decisions largely based on what they will generate for promotion… In terms of positive publicity.”
Earlier this month, Progozhin — who got his nickname because Putin led dignitaries to his restaurants — posed for photos at a key battlefield.
He was standing alongside his fighters in a Soledar salt mine when he claimed his mercenaries had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian city devastated by brutal fighting.
His claim prompted a quick response from the Russian army, which insisted the battle for the city continue.
All of this added to questions about whether the Russian president had lost control of the Wagner warlord and his men, amid suggestions that Kremlin officials are increasingly unhappy with Putin’s leadership.
The boss of the feared Wagner mercenary group has delighted in Ukraine by posing in a captured salt mine at the center of a key battlefield in the country (pictured)