July 26 (UPI) — A report released by the British Foreign Affairs Committee released Wednesday found that the British government underestimated the power Wagner mercenary group.
The committee’s report found that the government was “remarkably complacent” about states employing the services of Private Military Companies, like Wagner, for “malign purposes” while calling for a coordinated response to stem the growth of the industry.
“The committee found that, for nearly 10 years, the government has underplayed and underestimated the Wagner Network’s activities, as well as the security implications for Europe and its significant expansion in Africa,” the committee said in a statement.
It described Wagner as a “decentralized network of individuals and commercial entities, which is active in several countries and for which the ‘membership’ is not always clear,” and named multiple individuals who are linked to Wagner and its front companies while calling for an immediate assessment of whether they can face sanctions.
“The report urges the government to move faster and harder in sanctioning Wagner-linked actors and consider action against civilian enablers and corporate ‘frontmen,'” the committee said.
The committee painted a picture of Wagner’s actions going “beyond conventional military activities,” including “political advisory services, electoral services, media campaigns, mineral extraction and guarding/security services.”
Wagner and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, which had been employed by Russia to take part in its invasion of Ukraine, last month led a brief revolt against Moscow in opposition to a decision to force the group to sign deals with the government.
The committee also faulted the British government for failing to disrupt the activities of Wagner and other “disreputable companies,” that it called “detrimental to the United Kingdom’s interests.”
“In the 10 years since the Wanger Network’s formation, the U.K. Government has lacked a coherent strategy and efforts to meaningfully tackle Wagner have been non-existent. This has allowed the network to grow, spread its tentacles deep into Africa, and exploit countries on their knees due to conflict or instability,” said Committee chair Alicia Kearns.
Kearns added the committee was “deeply concerned by the government’s dismal lack of understanding of Wagner’s hold beyond Europe, in particular their grip on African states” where she pointed out a pattern of Wagner militia filling power vacuums.
“Where the West moves out, Wagner moves in, seeing opportunity in suffering and profit in chaos. Today’s report lays bare the activities of the network in seven key countries, where there is clear evidence of Wagner operations. The U.K. must provide an alternative for countries that are struggling; those who feel abandoned by the developed world and see the Wagner Network as a provider of security,” Kearns said.
