[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 26 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 26
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
and allies and partners of the United States around the world.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 3, 2021
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Durbin)
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
and allies and partners of the United States around the world.
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 sent mercenaries, artillery, tanks, drones, and
ammunition to Libya in violation of a United Nations arms embargo;
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 Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National 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 allies and partners of the United States around the
world; and
(2) the President, in addition to maintaining sanctions on
Yevgeniy Prigozhin, his affiliated entities, and the Wagner
Group, should--
(A) 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; and
(B) coordinate that strategy with international
partners, while exhorting them to strengthen sanctions
against Prigozhin and his entities and explore new
avenues for curbing his destabilizing activities.
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