Founder of Wagner’s private mercenary group made the bold claim that his group of assassins—crowded with murderers, rapists and other convicts released from prison-yes doing nothing in Ukraine that deserves to be punished.
In a comment to The Wall Street Journal for a Articles about sanctionsthe group responded “on behalf of Evgeny Viktorovich,” referring to the founder Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin“We conducted an internal audit of PMC Wagner’s crimes, but found nothing discreditable.”
The message then suggests that if well-documented evidence of atrocities exists, they should be published. “Therefore, if anyone has information about Wagner PMC crimes, please submit that information to our press service or post it in the media,” the statement read. “So that we can help our American colleagues shape their position.”
On Thursday, the United States designated the Wagner group, a “significant transnational criminal organization” for working on behalf of Russian president Vladimir Putin. “Wagner is a criminal organization that commits numerous atrocities and human rights violations, and we will work relentlessly to identify, disrupt, expose and target those who are aiding Wagner ,” said John Kirby, of the White House National Security Council.
The sanctions came as rumors surfaced that the Kremlin had warned Prigozhin about concerns that he might be assassinated, causing many to raise eyebrows as to whether it was an indirect threat from itself. Putin or not. Instead, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin said threats are coming from Kievnot Moscow.
The assassination claims stem from an alleged request by Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky to the CIA to remove boss Wagner. “One of the requests that Zelensky made [during a meeting with the CIA director] is the murder of Wagner’s boss, Mr. Prigozhin,” Vladimir Rogov, a Russian general in charge of a large Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine, told Russian media.
