Britain to add Russia's Wagner mercenary group to terror list

The Russian Wagner mercenary group is to be declared a terrorist organisation by Britain in a move that will make it meaning it illegal to belong to or support the organisation.

A flag bearing the logo of private mercenary group Wagner flutters above a portrait of late head of Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin at a makeshist memorial in Moscow, on August 27, 2023. AFP - NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA

The UK Interior Ministry on Wednesday said a draft order would be presented to Parliament allowing Wagner’s assets to be categorised as terrorist property and seized.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman described Wagner as "violent and destructive", adding it "acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin's Russia".

The group’s activities in Ukraine and Africa threatened global security, Braverman said in a statement.

Wagner's continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin's political goals. They are terrorists, plain and simple – and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law."

The order is expected to come into force on 13 September.

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After this time it will be a criminal offence to be a member of or promote the group, arrange or address its meetings and carry its logo in public.

Offences will be punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

The move comes after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash last month.

The crash occurred two months after Prigozhin mounted a failed armed rebellion against President Putin’s authority.

(with newswires)