IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 996 

Expressing the sense of Congress that the activities of Russian national 

Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities pose a threat to the national 

interests and security of the United States and of its allies and partners. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2020 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. KEATING, and Mr. 

KINZINGER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

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

of the United States and of its allies and partners. 

Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin is a Russian national who has 

maintained close personal ties with President Vladimir 

Putin since the early 2000s; 

Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin is the patron and funder 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 the Internet Research Agency (IRA), an organization engaged in online influence operations; 


CTELLI on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 996 IH 

Whereas the IRA has conducted online information operations against the United States in an attempt to sow division and discord among the American electorate, as well 

as the electorates of our European allies and partners; 

Whereas entities funded by Yevgeniy Prigozhin have been 

used by the Government of the Russian Federation to 

conduct military action, subversive operations, and 

disinformation campaigns on its behalf while giving it an 

appearance of plausible deniability; 

Whereas the Wagner Group was involved in the Russian Federation’s military invasion 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 has been described as ‘‘the deadliest U.S.-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, 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 


CTELLI on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 996 IH 

to 1,200 military contractors in Libya, including snipers 

and specialized military teams, serving as ‘‘an effective 

force multiplier’’ for Haftar’s army. 

Whereas mercenaries from the Wagner Group were deployed 

to Venezuela in January 2019 to provide support for the 

regime of Nicola ́s Maduro in the face of popular protests 

against his rule; 

Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities have 

spearheaded operations with the intent to influence political processes in Africa on behalf of the Government of 

the Russian Federation in several countries, including 

Madagascar, South Africa, Sudan, and Zimbabwe; 

Whereas the Wagner Group has deployed mercenaries to the 

Central African Republic since 2018 and has provided security detail for Central African Republic President 

Faustin-Archange Touade ́ra, including Russian national 

Valery Zakharov, a former security official with close ties 

to the Wagner Group, who serves as the National Security Adviser; 

Whereas, on July 31, 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 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 tied 

to the Wagner Group, including Valery Zakharov and 

Alexander Sotov; 


CTELLI on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 996 IH 

Whereas associates of Yevgeniy Prigozhin were reported to 

discuss plans to set up camps ‘‘for combat prep and 

training in sabotage’’ with the goal of stoking racial violence and carrying out domestic terror attacks in the 

United States in the run-up to the November 3, 2020, 

presidential election; 

Whereas associates of Yevgeniy Prigozhin have set up online 

influence operations based in Ghana and Nigeria to target social media audiences in the United States with the 

goal of inflaming racial tensions and provoking social unrest in the run-up to the November 3, 2020, presidential 

election; 

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 PropVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR996.IH HR996

CTELLI on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 996 IH 

erty of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities,’’ for being ‘‘involved in 

interfering with [U.S.] election processes or institutions’’; 

and 

Whereas current and former Administration officials have affirmed that the malign activities of Yevgeniy Prigozhin 

around the world pose a significant threat to United 

States national security interests: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns any and all attempts by the Gov3 ernment of the Russian Federation and its proxy ac4 tors to harmfully influence the domestic politics of 

5 other countries and sow division among their peo6 ples, particularly the United States and its allies and 

7 partners; 

8 (2) condemns the activities of Russian national 

9 Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities that 

10 pose a threat to the democratic values and security 

11 of the United States and its allies and partners; 

12 (3) urges countries engaging with Yevgeniy 

13 Prigozhin and his affiliated entities in business or 

14 advisory capacities to cease these engagements; 

15 (4) calls for seriously considering additional 

16 sanctions against Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affili17 ated entities for continued interference in United 

18 States democratic processes and in the democratic 

19 processes of United States allies and partners; 


CTELLI on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 996 IH 

1 (5) urges our European Union partners to seri2 ously consider adopting similar sanctions regimes 

3 against Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities 

4 for continued interference in the domestic politics of 

5 European Union member states; and 

6 (6) calls for close coordination between the 

7 United States Government and the governments of 

8 United States allies and partners to ensure that 

9 sanctions regimes against Yevgeniy Prigozhin and 

10 his affiliated entities are tightly coordinated. 

Æ 


CTELLI on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS