The founder of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeni Prigozhin, has demanded explanations from the United States for its inclusion on Friday on the list of transnational criminal organizations before joking that its presence on a criminal list makes the group a «colleague» of Washington.
«I have a question for you,» Prigozhin wrote on the group’s Telegram account, addressed to White House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby: «Can you name what crime the Wagner group has committed?»
Among the Wagner Group’s activities, according to the US, stands out not only its role on Ukrainian soil, fighting on behalf of Russia’s interests, but also its presence in armed conflicts in various African countries has been detected.
In fact, as Kirby explained during the announcement of the inclusion, the Wagner Group is reaching such a high level of power that it could be becoming a danger for the Russian Army itself and some of its ministries. Moscow would have «reservations» about the organization’s recruitment in Russian prisons.
Previously, Prigozhin had ironized that the listing had made the group a «colleague» of the United States. «From now on, our relationship can be called a ‘clash of criminal clans,'» he said Friday on his account.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
