Ukraine's Prosecutor General discusses designation of Wagner mercenaries as terrorists during US visit

During a visit to the US, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin met with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and spoke about the importance of designating the Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organisation.

Source: Andrii Kostin on Twitter; Prosecutor General’s Office on Telegram

Details: Kostin thanked Senator Whitehouse for sponsoring the Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries Act, which will designate the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organisation.

He expects that this will mean more sanctions and tools to stop the criminal activities of the Wagner Group.

Quote from Kostin: "Ukraine is investigating a number of brutal acts in which Wagnerites were involved. These cases can be qualified as war crimes at the very least. Recently, the world shuddered at the confessions of former members of the group to the mass murders of Ukrainian civilians, including children.

I hope the Senate will support this resolution. The proper labelling and sanctioning of the Wagner Group, as well as the investigation and prosecution of individual mercenaries, are essential to stop its criminal activities in Ukraine and around the world."

Особисто вдячний Сенатору Шелдону Вайтхаусу за ініціювання «Акту про притягнення до відповідальності російських найманців», який визнає «групу Вагнера» іноземною терористичною організацією. Це означатиме більше санкцій та інструментів для припинення її злочинної діяльності. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/4w7i4JNPiU

— Andriy Kostin (@AndriyKostinUa) April 20, 2023

Background:

• In the spring of 2022, the Biden administration considered the possibility of declaring the Wagner Group, a private military company linked to Kremlin oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, a foreign terrorist organisation.
• In December, Senators Roger Wicker and Ben Cardin introduced a bipartisan bill called the Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act, which would require the US Secretary of State to designate the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organisation.
• There were reports in the media in March 2023 that a dispute was brewing between Congress and US President Biden over whether to designate the Russian-based Wagner Group, which is fighting in Ukraine and is accused of terrible atrocities, as a terrorist organisation.

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