The U.S. targeted the Russia-backed Wagner Group in a new round of sanctions on Thursday, labeling the mercenary group a transnational criminal organization and accusing it of atrocities in Ukraine and around the world.
The sanctions accuse the mercenary group of supporting the Russian war effort in Ukraine and"committing widespread human rights abuses and extorting natural resources" in Africa, including"mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse" in the Central African Republic and Mali.
Two Russian officials in Putin's presidential administration, Aleksandr Kharichev and Boris Rapoport, were sanctioned for their work in orchestrating John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, previewed the new sanctions during a White House briefing last week. He said the U.S. has seen signs that"tensions between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defense are increasing" as Putin relies more heavily on Wagner personnel.
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