Sanctions are a response to the rights abuses in Libya, Syria and Ukraine.
Sanctions are the latest EU volley in conflict with Moscow.
The EU also adopted Mali sanctions framework that is also linked to Wagner Adds details, names, context BRUSSELS, Dec 13 Reuters - The European Union has imposed sanctions on Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, as well as eight other energy companies in Syria accused of helping to finance mercenaries in Ukraine, Libya and Syria.
The EU accused the Wagner Group of human rights abuses, whose members are mostly ex-service personnel, and said they carried out clandestine operations on the Kremlin's behalf.
The EU said in its official journal, the Wagner Group is responsible for serious human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan and Mozambique.
Russia denies any wrongdoing. President Vladimir Putin has said private military contractors have the right to work and pursue their interests wherever in the world as long as they do not break Russian law. Putin said that the Wagner Group did not represent the Russian state nor was paid by the Russian state.
The travel bans and asset freezes designed to limit any governments from working with the Wagner Group are unlikely to have a big impact on Moscow, but they mark a further weakening of the EU's foreign policy towards Russia, diplomats said.
According to Belarus state news agency Belta, the EU blacklisted Dimitriy Utkin, a former Russian military intelligence GRU officer, said he was the founder of the Wagner Group and was responsible for the deployment of alleged Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine.
The EU said that Kharitonov had fought as for Russia in eastern Ukraine, personally shot down a Ukrainian helicopter in the region and received the Russian Federation's Order of Merit for the Fatherland Three Russian-based entities linked to the Wagner Group that the EU said were involved in oil and gas production in Syria.
The sanctions followed an EU travel ban and asset freeze in October 2020 on one-time Russian caterer Yevgeny Prigozhin, dubbed Putin's cook for his close links to the Kremlin, which the bloc said had close ties to the Wagner Group.
The EU said in its official journal, The Wagner Group is financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Prigozhin denied any of these links in a statement on Friday.
On Monday, the EU adopted a sanctions regime relating to Mali, although no names were added. Reuters reported on the site: https://www.reuters.com. com world Africa exclusive-deal allowing-russian mercenaries-into mali-is close-sources - 2021 -- 09 -- 13 in September that Mali's military junta was in discussions about deploying the Wagner Group in Mali, which France says is not acceptable because it has its own troops in the region.