UK to declare Russia's Wagner ‘terrorist group’: Reports

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The British government is set to declare the Russian mercenary group Wagner a "terrorist organization," according to media reports Tuesday.

A draft order will be presented in Parliament which proscribes the private military group as a terrorist group and will allow its assets to be categorized as terrorist property and seized.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that Wagner was "violent and destructive," according to local media reports, including a report by BBC News.

"Wagner's continuing destabilizing activities only continue to serve the Kremlin's political goals...They are terrorists, plain and simple -- and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law," she added.

The group's name will now be added to the country's proscribed terrorist groups or organizations.

On Aug. 22, citing government insiders, the Financial Times reported that the UK will proscribe the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization "within weeks" as part of a fresh crackdown on the Russian mercenary network.

The Wagner Group was founded in 2014 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash on Aug. 23.