Lithuania designates Russia’s Wagner as terrorist organisation

Lithuania’s Seimas on Tuesday unanimously recognised Wagner, a private Russian military company, as a terrorist organisation.

The resolution states that Wagner members and mercenaries are a threat to the state and public security. The document also calls on other countries to follow Lithuania’s suit.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Wagner’s mercenaries have been committing “systematic, serious crimes of aggression – killing and torturing civilians in Ukraine, bombing homes and other civilian objects – that amount to terrorism”, the document reads.

“Wagner, a private military company founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and sanctioned by the EU and the US [...], is Russia’s shadow instrument of power,” it adds.

The resolution also points out the fact that Wagner receives free military equipment from the Russian government, including Grad missile systems, tanks, and armoured vehicles, and is trained by Russia’s military intelligence service (GRU).

Wagner headquarters in Saint Petersburg / AP

Moreover, the company’s mercenaries helped Russia occupy and annex Crimea in 2014, took part in hostilities in Eastern Ukraine in 2015, and are involved in criminal activities in the Central African Republic, Sudan, and Mali.

Wagner mercenaries are now trying to seize the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

The resolution also stresses the need for Lithuania to adopt a Law on the Prevention of Terrorism that would set out specific criteria for compiling a list of terrorist organisations and would impose sanctions on individuals involved in their activities.

In May last year, the Lithuanian Seimas also recognised Russia’s actions in Ukraine as genocide and Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.