Lithuanian parliament recognizes Wagner paramilitary group as ‘terrorist organization’

ISTANBUL

The Lithuanian parliament announced Tuesday it adopted a resolution recognizing the Wagner paramilitary group as a “terrorist organization.”

The resolution said Wagner “actively participates in military actions on the side of the aggressor,” claiming it committed actions in Ukraine that can be considered “equivalent to terrorism.”

“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,” the resolution claimed.

It also said the group has been involved in other countries such as the Central African Republic, Sudan and Mali adding the US Treasury Department has defined the group as a “transnational criminal organization.”

It further urged other countries to recognize Wagner as a “terrorist organization.”

“Lithuania is a microstate, and the opinion of Lithuanian parliamentarians can hardly influence even the inhabitants of its neighboring states – Latvia and Estonia,” Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner, said on Telegram in response to the decision.

Prigozhin also said the adoption of the resolution will not affect the work of Wagner “in any way.”