H. Res. 996 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

December 3, 2020. 

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; 

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 attempted annexation of 

Ukraine’s Crimea region in February and March 2014, 
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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 

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 Nicolas Maduro in the face of popular protests 

against his dictatorship; 

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 
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Madagascar, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and the 

Central African Republic; 

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 Touadera, 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; 

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

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

Whereas on July 15, 2020, under Executive Orders 13848, 

13694 (as amended), and 13661, the Department of the 

Treasury designated entities located in Sudan, Hong 

Kong, and Thailand that have enabled Yevgeniy 

Prigozhin’s ability to evade United States sanctions as 

well as Prigozhin-linked entities that have attempted to 
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suppress and discredit protestors seeking reforms in 

Sudan; 

Whereas, on September 23, 2020, pursuant to Executive Orders 13848, 13694 (as amended), and 13661, the Department of the Treasury designated a network of entities and individuals working on behalf of Yevgeniy 

Prigozhin seeking to advance Russia’s influence in the 

Central African Republic; 

Whereas, on October 15, 2020, the European Union sanctioned Yevgeniy Prigozhin for engaging in ‘‘and providing 

support for Wagner Group’s activities in Libya, which 

threaten the country’s peace, stability and security’’; 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 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) condemns any and all attempts by the Government of the Russian Federation and associated actors to 

influence the domestic politics of other countries and sow 

division among their peoples, particularly the United 

States and its allies and partners; 

(2) condemns the activities of Russian national 

Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities that pose 

a threat to the democratic values, democratic institutions, and security of the United States and its allies 

and partners; 
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(3) urges countries and entities engaging with 

Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities in business 

or advisory capacities to cease these engagements; 

(4) supports the additional designations made by 

the Department of the Treasury on September 23, 2020, 

and by the European Union on October 15, 2020, and 

calls on the United States Government and the European Union to continue to target the ability of Yevgeniy 

Prigozhin and his affiliated entities to conduct operations globally and to interfere in the democratic processes of the United States and its allies and partners; 

and 

(5) calls for close coordination between the United 

States Government and the governments of United 

States allies and partners to ensure that sanctions regimes against Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities are enforced and coordinated. 

Attest: 

Clerk.