16:56 25.01.2019

SBU to release information soon about criminal activities of Russia's PMC Wagner in Sudan

3 min read
SBU to release information soon about criminal activities of Russia's PMC Wagner in Sudan

Ukraine's SBU State Security Service will soon publish new information about the criminal activities of the "secret" hybrid projects of the Russian military intelligence in Sudan, including employees of Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner, which previously participated in the hostilities in Ukraine.

"The materials available to the SBU indicate that in December Sudan's armed contingent of the so-called PMC Wagner is composed of at least 300 people, most of whom previously participated in hostilities in Ukraine," the SBU's press service said on Facebook on Friday.

The SBU said Russia's Foreign Ministry has called "fake" an article by the London-based The Times newspaper about the presence of PMC Wagner in Sudan, which reportedly used weapons armed to suppress demonstrations of the democratic opposition.

"According to Russian regulatory legal acts, employees of PMC Wagner perform intelligence and operational tasks on the territory of other states in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry and their activities are classified. They operate under the protection of private structures," the SBU said.

The PMC in Sudan is reportedly operating under the cover of LLC M Invest, which is part of the business empire of the Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The SBU is in possession of evidence that personnel and weapons of PMC Wagner are delivered to Sudan and other countries of the region by the aircraft of Russia's Defense According to an agreement dated July 30, 2018 (for RUR 56 million) between LLC M Invest and the Russian Defense Ministry's 223rd Flight Detachment, Tu-154M aircraft made eight flights from Moscow to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum during the first five months of 2018. The planes flew from Khartoum to other African countries," the SBU said.

The SBU said Russia's military command regularly (every two months) rotates Wagner mercenaries in Syria and in Africa, and Sudan is used as a transshipment base for the supply of weapons and personnel to African countries.

"There is no doubt PMC Wagner is a hybrid project of the Russian military intelligence, whose units disperse democratic protests in Sudan," the SBU's press center said, citing SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak.

The SBU said Moscow might be supporting the regime of Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir whose arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court in 2009 on charges of genocide against civilians.

"Therefore, in the near future, the SBU will publish additional information about the details of the criminal activities of the secret Russian units in Sudan," the SBU said.

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