Sept. 15 (UPI) — Britain on Friday officially designated the Wagner mercenary group as a terror organization becoming the latest addition to a 78-strong list that includes al-Qaida, ISIS, Hamas and the Irish Republican Army.
The group was proscribed with immediate effect following the laying of an order in Parliament earlier in September and will make membership, or active support of the group, a criminal offense punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 14 years and a fine, the Home Office said in a news release.
The private Russian military company had acted as a “malign proxy military force on behalf of the Russian state in a range of theatres” from Ukraine and Syria to the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, Mozambique, and Mali, said the Home Office which is the umbrella agency for domestic security.
“Wagner Group have used serious violence against Ukrainian armed forces and against civilians to advance Russia’s political aims. The organization played a central role in combat operations against Ukrainian armed forces to seize the city of Popasna in May 2022 and during the assault of Bakhmut, which was occupied by Russian forces by June 2023.”
The agency accuses the group of conducting preparatory acts for terrorism, including activities intended to cause serious violence against people or serious damage to property, to directly advance a political cause and to intimidate opponents, including Ukrainians.
Wagner Group is also implicated in serious violence and damage to property while operating in Africa.
“Wagner is a violent and destructive organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia overseas,” Home Secretary Suella Braverman said when she unveiled the draft plan to outlaw the group last week under existing terrorism legislation.
“While Putin’s regime decides what to do with the monster it created, Wagner’s continuing destabilizing activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals.”
She said Wagner has operated purely in support of Russia’s foreign policy objectives.
