EU sanctions Wagner PMC over human rights violations in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya
The Council of the European Union has officially imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, as well as a number of individuals and entities associated with the notorious Russian private military company (PMC).
The sanctions, announced in the Official Journal of the European Union on Monday, December 13, were imposed over “serious human rights violations and abuses” in Ukraine, Syria, and a number of African countries.
“The Wagner Group is responsible for serious human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic (CAR), Sudan and Mozambique, which include torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings,” the document says.
The sanctions list includes three Russian energy companies working in Syria’s oil and gas sector: Evro Polis LLC, Velada LLC, and Mercury LLC.
In particular, Brussels states that Evro Polis LLC was sanctioned because it’s “used as a front from the Wagner Group in Syria.”
“It [Evro Polis LLC] has signed a number of contracts with the Syrian regime, through the state-owned General Petroleum Corp., under which it receives 25 percent of the proceeds from the production of oil and gas in fields captured by the Wagner Group. Thus, it benefits from or supports the Syrian regime,” the document says.
The EU also imposed restrictions on the Wagner Group’s alleged commander Dmitry Utkin (whose call sign is “Wagner”) and its alleged Executive Director (Chief of Staff) Andrey Troshev, as well as on other key figures in the PMC’s command structure and on individual fighters.