White House says sanctions against Wagner Group to continue

The U.S. will continue to apply sanctions against the private military company Wagner led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on June 26.

"We will continue to take those actions that are appropriate to try to limit their ability to continue to sow chaos and violence wherever it is," Kirby said.

The U.S. Treasury Department last sanctioned the Wagner Group on Jan. 26, designating the private military contractor as a "transnational criminal organization" over its human rights abuses in Ukraine and Africa.

The White House official also said that it is too early to assess the future of the Wagner Group and its founder after their short-lasting rebellion against the Russian government launched on June 23.

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During the uprising, Wagner mercenaries managed to capture Rostov, a Russian regional center, and subsequently marched towards the capital only to abruptly turn back on Prigozhin's orders on June 24.

The details of the deal brokered between the Kremlin and Wagner, allegedly facilitated by Belarus's dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko, remain unclear but Russia's dictator Vladimir Putin said in his address on June 26 that the mercenaries will be allowed to either sign contracts with the military or go to Belarus.

Despite claims on Telegram channels that Prigozhin has been sighted in Belarus, Lukashenko's press service said it has no information as to the Wagner boss's whereabouts.

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