The European Union imposed sanctions on PMCs Wagner and RIA FAN, financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin. The document was published on the official portal of the European Union.
According to the document, the EU puts on the sanctions list two organizations responsible for actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
“The Wagner Group was at the forefront of attacks against the Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut in January 2023 and is actively involved in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” the rationale for the sanctions reads.
RIA FAN in the EU was called involved in pro-government propaganda and disinformation about Russia.
In 2021, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union has already imposed sanctions against PMC Wagner and a number of individuals associated with it. “The Wagner Group is responsible for serious human rights violations in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic (CAR), Sudan and Mozambique, including torture and extrajudicial, mass or arbitrary executions and killings,” the document said.
Sanctions were then imposed against Dmitry Utkin, the founder and commander of the Wagner Group, mercenary of the PMC Wagner Stanislav Dychko and "a key figure in the command structure of the Wagner Group" Valery Zakharov.
Also, for "participation" in hostilities in Ukraine on the side of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, restrictive measures were introduced against Wagner PMC mercenaries Denis Kharitonov and Sergey Shcherbakov.