UK Declares Russian Mercenary Group Wagner As Terrorist Organisation

The declaration comes after UK Interior Minister Suella Braverman characterised Wagner as "violent and destructive," asserting that it had served as "a military instrument of Vladimir Putin's Russia on foreign soil."

One of the offices of the Wagner Group in Moscow. The mercenary group has operated in Syria and several nations in northern and western Africa. ( Image Source :Getty Images )

Britain on Friday officially designated the Russian mercenary group Wagner as a terrorist organisation, a move announced last week that renders membership or support for it illegal. This comes after a draft order was scheduled for presentation before Parliament to enable the categorisation of Wagner's assets as terrorist property, subject to seizure, the Interior Ministry confirmed in a statement issued on September 6, news agency Reuters reported.

As per Reuters' report, Interior Minister Suella Braverman characterised Wagner as "violent and destructive," asserting that it had served as "a military instrument of Vladimir Putin's Russia on foreign soil."

In response to the ban, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov contended that, from a legal standpoint, Wagner did not exist. "There's nothing to comment on," he stated when questioned about the move, the report mentioned.

According to the British Interior Ministry statement, Wagner has been implicated in acts of looting, torture, and "barbarous murders" across Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa, representing a significant threat to global security. "They are terrorists, plain and simple — and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law," Braverman asserted, as quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, David Lammy, the Foreign Affairs Spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, welcomed the move as "long overdue." He called on the government to pursue legal action against Putin for his aggressive actions.

Wagner has operated in Syria and several nations in northern and western Africa. It recruited thousands of inmates from Russian prisons to participate in the conflict in Ukraine, serving as the primary assault force during Russia's winter offensive in 2022-2023.

In June, Wagner staged a brief mutiny in Russia, an action condemned as treason by President Putin. On August 23, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the group, and several top lieutenants were killed in a plane crash.

Britain had previously imposed sanctions on Prigozhin in 2020 and, in March 2022, on the entire Wagner group. In July of the current year, additional sanctions were placed on individuals and businesses with connections to the group operating in the Central African Republic, Mali, and Sudan.