[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 624 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 624

   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the activities of Russian 
 national Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities pose a threat 
 to the national interests and national security of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 16, 2020

     Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the activities of Russian 
 national Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities pose a threat 
 to the national interests and national security of the United States.

Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin is a Russian national who has maintained close 
        personal ties with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin since the 
        early 2000s;
Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin is the presumed financier of the Wagner Group, also 
        known as the Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner, a Russian mercenary 
        organization staffed by current and former military and intelligence 
        officers, and is the financier of the Internet Research Agency and other 
        organizations engaged in online influence operations;
Whereas entities such as Wagner have been linked to the Government of the 
        Russian Federation and are used to conduct military action, subversive 
        operations, and disinformation campaigns on the Government's behalf 
        while giving it an appearance of plausible deniability;
Whereas the Wagner Group was involved in the Russian Federation's military 
        takeover and illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in February 
        and March 2014, and in the subsequent insurgencies in the eastern 
        Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk;
Whereas the Wagner Group has been providing military support to the regime of 
        Bashar al-Assad in Syria since 2015, fighting alongside its forces and 
        helping it recapture significant parts of the country;
Whereas, on February 7, 2018, the Wagner Group led an armed assault on United 
        States troops near the city of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria, prompting 
        a United States counterattack, in what the Washington Post has described 
        as ``the deadliest United States-Russia clash since the Cold War'';
Whereas the Wagner Group has supported Khalifa Haftar and his ``Libyan National 
        Army'' by providing mercenaries, artillery, tanks, drones, and 
        ammunition in violation of a United Nations arms embargo, with Yevgeniy 
        Prigozhin personally attending a meeting between Haftar and Russian 
        Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow on November 7, 2018;
Whereas a United Nations report made public on May 6, 2020, concluded that the 
        Wagner Group has operated up to 1,200 military contractors in Libya, 
        including snipers and specialized military teams, serving ``as an 
        effective force multiplier'' for Haftar's army;
Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities have been tied to 
        influence operations on behalf of the Government of the Russian 
        Federation in Africa, with entities associated with Prigozhin reportedly 
        operating in at least 20 countries, including the Central African 
        Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Sudan;
Whereas about 235 Russian military and private security personnel have deployed 
        to the Central African Republic since 2017, some of whom are reportedly 
        employed by the Wagner Group, and some of whom provide personal security 
        for President Faustin-Archange Touadera;
Whereas Russian national Valery Zakharov, who is reportedly a former 
        intelligence official, has served as a top national security advisor to 
        Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera since at 
        least 2018;
Whereas, in July 2018, Russian journalists Orkhan Dzhemal, Kirill Radchenko, and 
        Alexander Rastorguyev were murdered in the Central African Republic 
        while working on a documentary about the activities of the Wagner Group 
        in that country;
Whereas neither the Government of the Central African Republic nor the 
        Government of the Russian Federation are conducting credible and 
        thorough investigations into the murder of these 3 journalists;
Whereas, according to an investigation by the London-based Dossier Center, the 
        journalists had been tracked by officers of the Central African Republic 
        gendarmerie who were in close communication with Russian nationals with 
        ties to Prigozhin, including Alexander Sotov, who in turn was reportedly 
        in contact with Zakharov;
Whereas companies owned by Yevgeniy Prigozhin reportedly had made regular 
        payments to senior Central African Republic officials, including the 
        Police Chief and the Minister of National Security;
Whereas, on December 20, 2016, the Department of the Treasury designated 
        Yevgeniy Prigozhin under Executive Order 13661, ``Blocking Property of 
        Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine,'' ``for 
        having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, 
        or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, senior 
        officials of the Russian Federation'';
Whereas, on June 20, 2017, the Department of the Treasury designated the Wagner 
        Group under Executive Order 13660, ``Blocking Property of Certain 
        Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine,'' ``for being 
        responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or 
        indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, 
        stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine'';
Whereas, on March 15, 2018, the Department of the Treasury designated Yevgeniy 
        Prigozhin, his affiliated entities, including the Internet Research 
        Agency, and his subordinates under Executive Order 13694, ``Blocking the 
        Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-
        Enabled Activities,'' for being ``involved in interfering with [United 
        States] election processes or institutions'';
Whereas, on February 16, 2018, the Department of Justice announced the 
        indictment of Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities, including 
        the Internet Research Agency, for engaging in ``operations to interfere 
        with the United States political system, including the 2016 United 
        States presidential election'' and conducting ``information warfare'' 
        against the United States;
Whereas, on September 20, 2018, the Department of State added Prigozhin, his 
        affiliated entities, including the Internet Research Agency, and the 
        Wagner Group to the list of persons identified as part of, or operating 
        for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the 
        Government of the Russian Federation under section 231 of the Countering 
        America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525);
Whereas, on September 30, 2019, under Executive Order 13848, the Department of 
        the Treasury took additional steps to increase pressure on Prigozhin by 
        designating physical assets--3 aircraft and a yacht--and 3 associated 
        front companies of his;
Whereas, on February 15, 2019, Gavin Williamson, then-United Kingdom Defense 
        Secretary, said that the ``clandestine use of proxies, mercenary armies 
        like the infamous and unaccountable Wagner Group, allows the Kremlin to 
        get away with murder while denying the blood on their hands'';
Whereas, on December 13, 2018, John Bolton, then-Assistant to the President for 
        National Security Affairs, affirmed that ``the predatory practices 
        pursued by China and Russia . . . in Africa . . . pose a significant 
        threat to United States national security interests''; and
Whereas General Stephen J. Townsend, Commander of the United States Africa 
        Command, on April 2, 2019, expressed great ``concern'' about the Wagner 
        group, and, on January 30, 2020, noted that private military contractors 
        such as Wagner, are ``leading the fight in Libya against the UN-backed 
        and U.S.-recognized Government of National Accord'': Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the activities of Russian national Yevgeniy Prigozhin, 
        his affiliated entities, and the Wagner Group pose a threat to 
        the national interests and national security of the United 
        States; and
            (2) the President, in addition to maintaining sanctions on 
        Yevgeniy Prigozhin, his affiliated entities, and the Wagner 
        Group, should work with Congress to develop and execute a 
        strategy drawing on the multiple instruments of United States 
        national power available to the President, to counter the 
        malign influence and activities of Prigozhin, the entities 
        linked to him, and the Wagner Group.
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