United States today called a Russian paramilitary company an “international criminal organization.” Wagnercondemning her actions Ukraine.

“Wagner is a criminal organization that commits atrocities and violates human rights,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, noting that a company of mercenaries moved about 50,000 people, mostly conscripts, to Ukraine while they were imprisoned in Russian prisons.

“We still believe that the Wagner group currently has about 50,000 people in Ukraine, of which 10,000 are mercenaries and 40,000 (former) prisoners of war,” he said, arguing that even the Russian Defense Ministry had “reservations about “recruitment methods”. .

Kirby also announced that Washington would impose new sanctions on Wagner. After being declared an “international criminal organization”, Americans are also prohibited from providing resources, goods or services to the organization, and any of its assets in the United States are frozen.

The spokesman provided a satellite photo taken on Nov. 18 that the White House said showed a Russian train heading to North Korea to pick up weapons for Wagner. On November 19, North Korea filled five container cars and the train returned to Russia. According to Kirby, North Korea supplied the missiles that Wagner used. “While we understand that the amount of materials delivered to Wagner has not changed the dynamics of the fighting in Ukraine, we expect it to continue to receive North Korean weapon systems,” he added.

Last month, the White House announced that Wagner had received weapons from North Korea. The North Korean Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegation as unfounded and, in turn, accused the United States of supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons. Wagner founder and close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, also denied receiving weapons from North Korea and called the White House’s statement “gossip and speculation.”

Fire against Wagner and in Serbia

Wagner denied on Friday that he was recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine, a day after activists filed criminal charges against the group in Belgrade.

Among those involved in the complaints were the Russian ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Bochan-Karchenkoand Alexander Bulinhead of the State Security and Intelligence Agency of Serbia.

“I don’t recruit Serbs,” the founder of Wagner declared. Evgeniy Prigogineadding that he doesn’t even know him Bochan-Karchenko, neither him Bulin.

Earlier this week, the President of Serbia Alexander Vucic declared that Russia should stop efforts to recruit Serbs to fight on the side of the Wagner forces. He even said that Russian websites, as well as groups on social networks, published ads in Serbian in which the paramilitary group called for volunteers for the army.

On Friday, the United States announced new sanctions against Wagner, accusing him of supplying North Korean weapons to Russia, which Wagner denies, and of recruiting Russian prisoners of war to fight.

^{Source: Reuters, AFP.}