Wagner Group may be smuggling weapons from Mali to Ukraine, U.S. Treasury says
Global News
The Wagner Group may be trying to smuggle weapons to Ukraine from Mali as Russia continues its invasion of the country, U.S. officials say.
The U.S. Treasury said Thursday it has sanctioned a key member of the Wagner Group, the private militia that has had an increasingly influential role in the war in Ukraine.
In a statement, Treasury officials said the move targets Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov and blocked all of his property and holdings in the U.S. Maslov is a Russian national and is allegedly based in Mali, Africa, heading up the militia’s operations in that country.
The Treasury says those operations include trafficking war equipment into Ukraine, where the Wagner Group is operating as a private militia in support of Russia’s invasion.
The Treasury statement says that the group may be using Mali as a third country to route equipment purchased from foreign suppliers to Ukraine, including mines, unmanned aerial vehicles, radar and counterbattery systems.
According to the statement, the group is willing to use false paperwork to cover its tracks and may also be using other countries where it has a “foothold” to traffic weapons.
The Wagner Group has had an increasingly significant role in the Ukraine war, including on the frontlines of Bakhmut, which has been one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has come to rely on the group to help Russian forces in the war given domestic anger over conscription and the group’s willingness to recruit prisoners.
The Wagner Group is believed to operate around the world, including in Africa and Syria, and has plundered minerals and diamonds to fund its efforts.
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