The Italian government said on Monday that Wagner’s mercenary group was behind an increase in migrant boats trying to cross the Mediterranean as part of Moscow’s strategy to retaliate against countries that support Ukraine, Reuters reported.

“I think it is now safe to say that the exponential growth of the migration phenomenon leaving African shores is also, to a small extent, part of a clear strategy of hybrid warfare, which is being implemented and used by the Wagner unit, and which is of considerable importance in some African countries” , said the statement of the Minister of Defense Guido Crozetto.

About 20,000 people have arrived in Italy this year, compared with 6,100 in the same period in 2022, Interior Ministry figures show, and the migration issue is putting pressure on the right-wing government.

Reuters has reached out to Wagner Group for comment on Crosetto’s allegations.

Wagner’s forces are accused of operating in several African countries, including Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic. They also led Russia’s attempts to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Crosetto, a leading figure in Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney’s right-wing Brotherhood of Italy party, called on NATO allies to help Italy deal with a surge in migrant arrivals.

“The Atlantic alliance is stronger if the problems arising from collective elections are also shared, but it risks breaking apart if the countries most vulnerable to various kinds of retaliation are left alone,” he said.

Similar remarks came from Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who told the ANSA news agency during a visit to Israel that it was worrying that many of the migrants came from areas “controlled by the Wagner group”.

Italian government accused of reacting too slowly when migrant boats get into trouble at sea

Maloney, who takes a hard line against illegal immigration, has been criticized since last month’s shipwreck near the southern region of Calabria that killed at least 79 people, with the prime minister accused of being too slow to respond to the incident.

On Sunday, the boat capsized after leaving Libya, and the charity Alarm Phone accused Italy of failing to send its coast guard despite being repeatedly warned on Saturday that the boat was in trouble. Dozens of migrants were reported missing on Sunday and may be dead since the incident.