US imposes new sanctions against Wagner PMC

This is reported by Reuters, citing the US Department of Commerce.

"The Wagner Group is one of the most notorious mercenary organizations in the world and is actively committing atrocities and human rights abuses across Ukraine," said US Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez.

Under the restrictions, Wagner's PMC will now be designated as an "end-user of military equipment" and will face significant restrictions if it attempts to acquire any technology created using U.S. equipment.

"Today we are sending a clear message to non-state actors seeking to pick up the baton of brutality from Putin’s faltering military that the Department of Commerce will not hesitate to act against them," he said.

Reuters states such a decision by the Joe Biden administration should signal support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived at the White House on Wednesday on his first foreign visit since the full-scale war.

The Agency reminds that back in 2017, the United States added Wagner PMC to the trade "blacklist."

• Wagner PMC appeared in 2014 and was active in a number of countries where Russia has important interests, including Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and Ukraine. There, among other things, they committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Wagnerites took part in massacres of civilians. The PMC is now recruiting prisoners from Russian prisons. Prigozhin has long denied any connection with the Wagner PMC, but recently confirmed the existence of the group and admitted that he is its founder. The oligarch, who is under Western sanctions, is considered to be a supporter of Putin's aggressive war against Ukraine.