UK formally declares Russia’s Wagner mercenary company to be a terrorist organization
An employee erases the Wagner PMC logo from the window of the Wagner Center in St. Petersburg, July 1, 2023 (Photo:REUTERS / Anton Vaganov)
The United Kingdom has officially recognized Russia’s Wagner mercenary company to be a terrorist organization, the UK government’s press service said on Sept. 15
From now on belonging to the Wagner Group or actively supporting it in the UK is a criminal offense and could result in 14 years in prison.
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman emphasized that Wagner's members are terrorists, used by the Kremlin for its political purposes and involved in robbery, torture, and brutal murders. Braverman also said that Wagner's operations in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa pose a threat to global security.
In July, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly recognized Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and the Wagner mercenary company as a terrorist organization.
Earlier, Russian media reported that Wagner had suspended the recruitment of mercenaries.
Wagner may, however, already be a spent force. An Embraer Legacy 600 plane that crashed in Russia’s Tver Oblast on Aug. 23 was reported to have Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his deputy, Dmitry Utkin, on board.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed there were ten people on board: seven passengers (Wagner militants, including Valery Chekalov, owner of several legal entities linked to Prigozhin) and three crew members.
The plane crash occurred exactly two months after a failed mutiny attempt by Wagner.
On Aug. 27, Russia's Investigative Committee officially announced that Prigozhin and his "right-hand man" Utkin had died as a result of a plane crash in Tver Oblast. On Aug. 29, Prigozhin's press service announced that his funeral was held in a "closed format" at a cemetery in St. Petersburg.
After Prigozhin's death, Russian dictator Putin ordered all the so-called “private military companies,” including Wagner, to sign an oath of allegiance to Russia.
According to Western media, Russian special services want to seize control of Wagner's operations in Africa.
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