A group of senators, led by Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican Roger Wicker, said Wednesday they would put a bipartisan vote to the vote again Invoice to pursue Russian mercenaries, causing the State Department to designate the Russia-based PMC Wagner as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. This bill has already been submitted to the previous composition of the Senate, but did not have time to pass before the end of its term.
On January 26, 2023, the Ministry of Finance recognized Wagner PMC as a transnational criminal organization responsible for large-scale human rights violations.
Senators Cardin and Wicker are co-chairs of the US Helsinki Commission.
In a press release on Wednesday, Senator Wicker said, “Vladimir Putin is a thug who will stop at nothing to win, and the Wagner Group is one of his favorite and bloodiest tools. The United States should call this shadow army for what it is: a foreign terrorist organization. We must hold the Wagner Group and all who support these terrorists accountable for the atrocities they have committed around the world. »
In the same document, Senator Cardin stressed that “the United States must act and immediately declare the Wagner group as terrorists. This is the best way to hold them and Russia accountable for human rights abuses. We must do everything possible to weaken the forces of Putin’s troops.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham recalls that “the Wagner group is not only a private group of mercenaries, but an extension of the Russian military and security apparatus. US law would designate them as a foreign terrorist organization and allow them to face the full brunt of US sanctions.
Graham said he “hopes that one day the leaders of the Wagner Group will be held criminally responsible for the terrorist attacks they commit daily in Ukraine.”
Democratic Senator Jean Shaheen, announcing the bill’s introduction, recalled that “Vladimir Putin is a bloody dictator who relies on barbaric mercenaries – like the Wagner Group – to carry out his orders”, and called on the government American to demand that the group be declared a Wagner Foreign Terrorist Organization to name these thugs as they deserve and ensure we have mechanisms in place to bring them to justice.”
