Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 30 November (HL3473), whether they regard the Russian Wagner Group as a group whose behaviour is considered unacceptable by the international community.

The Wagner Group is directly connected to the Russian state. The UK condemns Russia's use of such proxies in Ukraine. Wagner mercenaries are operating in Ukraine in support of Russian invasion, and are present in other conflict settings, including Mali and the Central African Republic, where they have a destabilising impact and are responsible for human rights abuses. We work closely with our international partners to counter the malign use of such proxies by Russia. We have designated both the Wagner Group, and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, under the Russia Sanctions Regime.