Three Russian mercenaries, right, are seen in Mali in this undated picture from the French military. A major player in the conflict in Ukraine has been the private military firm Wagner Group of Russia, which has also sent people to the Middle East and Africa.
WATERLOO —
On Thursday, the United States placed sanctions on the commander of the Wagner Group in Mali, charging that the Russian private army had been exploiting Mali and other nations to conceal its ambitions to purchase military hardware for use in Ukraine.
In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department also charged Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov, who it identified as the leader of the Wagner paramilitary units and the organization’s principal administrator based in Mali, with coordinating closely with Malian government representatives to carry out the group’s deployment in Mali.
Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement that the penalties on the most senior Wagner Group agent in Mali “identify and disrupt a key operative supporting the group’s global activities.”
The action was taken after State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday that there were signs that Wagner had been seeking to buy military equipment from overseas vendors and ship it via Mali.
The action was taken after State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday that there were signs that Wagner had been seeking to buy military equipment from overseas vendors and ship it via Mali.
The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the American accusations a “hoax” at a press conference on Wednesday and asked Washington to look into the impact of its own military exports.
