Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to hamper the global activities of (1) the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, and (2) other similar organisations.

It is clear that the Wagner Group and other similar organisations do not provide enduring security. Her Majesty's Government (HMG) will continue to attribute and expose where Wagner or other organisations undermine security and commit human rights abuses.

In December 2021, the UK issued a statement with 15 international partners to firmly condemn the deployment of the Wagner Group in Mali, which we believe can only further deteriorate the security environment.

In 2020, HMG placed an asset freeze and travel ban on an individual closely associated with Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, following his support to the Group's activities in Libya, where they were involved in multiple and repeated breaches of the arms embargo in Libya established in UNSCR 1970.