UPDATE - UK officially declares Russian Wagner Group 'terrorist organization'

UPDATES WITH OFFICIAL STATEMENT, MORE DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Calling it “violent and destructive,” Britain on Wednesday declared the Russian mercenary Wagner Group a banned terrorist organization, making it illegal to be a member or give it support.

A draft order is being sent to parliament today making it illegal to support Wagner, with violations punishable by up to 14 years in jail, the Home Office said in a statement.

“Once agreed, the order will come into force on Sept. 13, making it a criminal offense to belong to, encourage support for, assist or use the logo of that group," it added.

The group's assets can also be categorized as "terrorist property" and seized, noted the statement.

"Wagner is a violent and destructive organisation which has acted as a military tool of (President) Vladimir Putin’s Russia overseas," said Home Secretary Suella Braverman, adding that Wagner’s "continuing destabilising 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 ... that is why we are proscribing this terrorist organisation and continuing to aid Ukraine wherever we can in its fight against Russia," she noted.

For his part, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said that declaring Wagner a terrorist group sends "a clear message" that the UK will not tolerate Russia’s proxies.

Early Wednesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the news, saying on X/Twitter: "It’s right that today we are proscribing the group for what it is – a terrorist organisation.”

Accusing the group of committing "torture, theft and barbarism," Sunak stated that through such actions it is "threatening democracy and freedom around the world."

Grant Shapps, the UK's new defense secretary, also said early Wednesday that he is "pleased" by the move.

The order will be debated in parliament this week and once passed, Wagner will become the 79th organization to be proscribed in the UK.

Other groups banned in the UK include Daesh/ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hizballah, and the PKK – a group responsible for the death of over 40,000 people in Türkiye.

Wagner has had a rising international profile in recent years through its deployment in such places as Africa, and its fighting in the 18-month-old Ukraine war.

Founded in 2014 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash on Aug. 23, Wagner this June staged a short-lived rebellion against the Russian government, marching towards Moscow before it turned its troops around.