The White House announced on Friday that the Wagner group will be named a Transnational Criminal Organization in an effort to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian and Wagner forces, Arwa Mahdawi reports for The Guardian. The classification will come with sanctions against Wagner, the global military contractor assisting Russian forces in its invasion of Ukraine.
“We will work relentlessly to identify, disrupt, expose and target those who are assisting Wagner,” said John Kirby, national security council spokesman for the White House, while announcing the new designation. “These actions recognize the transcontinental threat that Wagner poses, including through its ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity with these actions, and there’ll be more to come.”