The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian Parliament) approved Resolution No. 8397 on the recognition of the Private Military Company (PMC) "Wagner" as an international criminal organization.
The MP of the "Voice" faction Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported this.
333 MPs voted pro.
The explanatory note states that since 2014, the PMC "Wagner" has been directly involved in Russiaʼs aggressive policy to the detriment of the peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and is under the full control of the Russian state and is one of the instruments of the Russian Federationʼs unprovoked armed aggression against Ukraine and genocide of the Ukrainian people.
The Verkhovna Rada also approved resolution No. 3735 on the recognition of all Russian private military companies as terrorist organizations. 336 MPs voted pro.
- On February 3, 2023, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office declared suspicions against the owner of the PMC “Wagner” Yevgeniy Prygozhyn. He is considered responsible for thousands of war crimes in Ukraine.
- The Russian PMC "Wagner" takes an active part in the war against Ukraine and is involved not only in battles, but also in the construction of defense fortifications in the occupied territories. Also, the "Wagnerians" are probably responsible for a number of executions of video prisoners and war crimes.
- In November, EU deputies proposed to recognize the PMC "Wagner" as a terrorist organization. A corresponding draft law is also being considered in the USA. In December, the U.S. State Department added the PMC "Wagner" to the list of organizations of "special concern", and on January 26, the U.S. Treasury Department recognized the Russian PMC "Wagner" as a transnational criminal organization and introduced new sanctions against it and those who support it.