‘Spy balloons’ shot down over Kyiv; Russia burning bodies ’round the clock’ to hide losses | War latest

To the US now, where Democratic and Republican senators have said they are working to get the Wagner Group of mercenary fighters designated as a foreign terrorist organisation. 

The politicians said they will try to pass legislation that would require the State Department to make the change. 

Led by Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican Roger Wicker, the
senators said they had reintroduced the Holding Accountable
Russian Mercenaries (HARM) act. 

The act was introduced but not passed before the end of the previous Congress, and aims to hold Wagner accountable for human rights violations.

Designating it as a terrorist organisation makes it illegal for anyone in the US to provide support or resources to the group, including money, training, weapons and expert advice. 

In certain circumstances, it also means members of the organisation can be removed from the US. 

The Wagner Group, which has been contracted by the Kremlin to fight on the Russian side in some of the most intense battles of the war, was classed as a “significant transnational criminal organisation” by the US last month.

This put it in the same category as Italian mafia groups and Japanese and Russian organised crime.

The designation allows more sanctions to be placed on the group’s network around the world, which includes mercenary operations in Africa.

The group “is a criminal organisation that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses”, John Kirby, the US national security council spokesman, said.

The Wagner Group has recruited criminals from Russian prisons to join its ranks and has suffered heavy losses in Ukraine, as our Russia correspondent Diana Magnay has reported…