Lithuania recognizes Russian PMC Wagner as a terrorist organization
The Seimas of Lithuania unanimously approved a resolution recognizing the Russian Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. 117 MPs voted in favor of the resolution, according to the website of the Lithuanian parliament.
"The private military company Wagner of the Russian Federation is a terrorist organization, and its mercenaries pose a threat to the security of the state and society," the document reads.
The Seimas strongly condemned the use of any mercenary groups, such as Wagner, created with the support of the Russian authorities, to commit crimes of aggression in the territory of Ukraine.
The resolution states that Wagner's mercenaries "carry out systematic, serious crimes of aggression – killing and torturing Ukrainian civilians, bombing residential buildings and other civilian facilities – which equates to terrorism."
"The Wagner PMC, founded by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and is under EU and US sanctions for interfering in the democratic processes of foreign countries, promoting the Kremlin's imperialist ambitions, is a shadow tool of the Russian authorities. It receives military equipment free of charge from the Russian government, such as Grad missile systems, tanks, armored vehicles, uses Russian military infrastructure. The group's fighters are trained by the Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Federation," the resolution says.
The Seimas drew attention to the fact that the EU and the United States announced sanctions against the Wagner group for its role in the war in Ukraine, as well as for committing serious crimes, including mass executions, rape, abduction of children, physical violence and other human rights violations in the Central African Republic, Sudan, and Mali.
Earlier, Prigozhin announced the recruitment of new mercenaries and said he wanted to turn his PMC into an "army with an ideology."