The White House on Thursday strongly warned against the rise of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which it says is a rival to the regular Russian army in Ukraine and now receives weapons from North Korea, AFP and Reuters reported.

“North Korea made the initial supply to Wagner, which paid for the equipment. Last month (she) delivered shells and missiles to Russia for Wagner,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council.

According to him, the United States believes that Pyongyang is “considering the possibility of delivering additional equipment.”

“This is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The fact that President Putin is asking for help from North Korea shows that Russia is alone and in despair,” commented the head of British diplomacy, James Cleverley.

Currently, 50,000 people work in Ukraine

A White House official also estimated that Wagner currently has 50,000 people stationed in Ukraine — 10,000 mercenaries and 40,000 recruited from Russian prisons — and that the organization spends $100 million a month on its operations in the country.

Washington, which has already imposed sanctions on the mercenary organization, which is present in several theaters of conflict around the world, will take further measures “in the coming weeks,” John Kirby said.

Wagner accused of abuses and crimes / Prigozhin’s influence grows

The paramilitary group, which operates in Syria, Libya, Sudan and the Central African Republic, has been accused of involvement in abuses in several locations.

“It is clear to us that the Wagner PEC is becoming a rival of the Russian regular army and other Russian ministries,” the spokesman said, assuring that the influence of the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Kremlin is only growing.

“For months, the Russian military has relied on Wagner to direct the fighting in certain areas of Donbas (eastern Ukraine), and in some cases, Russian officers are actually obeying Wagner’s orders,” John Kirby said.

He said Wagner’s troops were “poorly equipped and trained” and suffered “heavy casualties” on the battlefield.

A US spokesman estimated that “Wagner” has lost 1,000 people in Ukraine recently.

According to John Kirby, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who “has no respect for human life,” is “sending the Russians to slaughter in Bakhmut,” a front-line town where the fighting is going on.

“He seems to care much more about his influence in the Kremlin than about the people he is recruiting to fight in Ukraine. The only thing he cares about is looking good in front of Putin,” he said.

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