The United States has announced new sanctions against the Russian private military company Wagner Group, as well as adding a “transnational criminal organization” designation to the group.
“Last month, the Department of Commerce designated Wagner as a military end user, which means we expanded Wagner’s entity list to ensure that you cannot access equipment anywhere in the world based on military technology or equipment. US production,” NSC Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told reporters at a press conference on Friday. “Today we are announcing additional actions we are taking to help Ukraine defend against invading Russian forces.”
“First, the Treasury Department will designate Wagner as a Major Transnational Criminal Organization pursuant to Executive Order 13581 as amended,” Kirby continued. “In coordination with this designation, we will also impose additional sanctions next week against Wagner and his support network on multiple continents.”
Kirby stressed the need to go after the group as Russian President Vladimir Putin is “increasingly turning” to the group, which has created tensions between Wagner and the Russian Defense Ministry as Wagner continues to become “a rival power center for the Russian army”. .”
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The Wagner Group has operated in various regions, including the Middle East, Africa and Venezuela, and has long caused “endless trouble for US lawmakers.”
An interior view shows the PMC Wagner Center, which is a project implemented by entrepreneur and founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on November 4, 2022.
(Reuters/Igor Russak/File Photo)
Since its creation in 2014, the group has been considered a proxy group for the Russian state abroad, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The group rose to prominence during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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The group currently has approximately 50,000 employees deployed in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts, Kirby reported.
White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby (not pictured) presents images alleging the movement of railcars between Russia and North Korea during a press conference at the White House in Washington , on January 20, 2023.
(Reuters/Leah Millis)
Wagner has increasingly relied on prison recruiting, which often includes trained military veterans. US intelligence indicates that the Russian Defense Ministry has “reservations” about Wagner’s recruiting methods, but the group will continue to find fresh troops in prisons.
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The sanctions, while welcome, could come too late as the group continues to amass power from the already strong position it has created, according to Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting and a former DIA intelligence officer.
“The longer the war goes on, the more creative destruction you can expect from Russia and the more bloodshed. There is no magic bullet. The best way to prevent this was to not let this happen in the first place, by developing a deterrence posture and trying to the threat from Russia seriously,” Koffler told Fox News Digital.
“Short of deploying US and NATO forces into the theater, and risking nuclear conflict, there is no other way at this time to stop Putin, the Wagner Group, and the formation of the global pariah association between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. ” She explained.
Kirby also revealed that North Korea has supplied rockets and infantry missiles to Russia for Wagner’s use. The National Security Council (NSC) on Friday released images showing an initial delivery of missiles on November 19, 2022.
White House Homeland Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby presents footage alleging railcar movement between Russia and North Korea, during a news briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., on January 20, 2023.
(Reuters/Leah Millis)
The renditions have not “changed the dynamics of the battlefield in Ukraine,” but the NSC expects the renditions to continue.
Kirby ended his time on the podium by stressing the United States’ support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “determine what victory looks like.”
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“What we’ve said is that we’re going to continue to help them defend themselves, defend their sovereignty, take back their land the way they should, the way they should, and defend their citizens and their infrastructure,” Kirby said.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
