US lawmakers classify Russian mercenary groups as terrorist organizations

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan coalition of US lawmakers is seeking to tighten legal and financial restrictions on Russia’s global mercenary network, introducing… legislation On February 10, it would designate the proxy forces renamed by the Kremlin as foreign terrorist organizations.

The action represents a significant escalation in Washington’s efforts to expand sanctions authority against the Kremlin’s private mercenary organizations, including those formed since the demise of the notorious mercenary organization. Wagner group.

Led by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina, the group in the House includes Republicans Pat Fallon (Texas), Maria Salazar (Florida), Mike Lawler (New York), and Zach Nunn (Iowa), along with Democrats Steve Cohen (Tenn.) and Jimmy Panetta (California).

Together they unveiled the Russian Mercenaries Accountability Act 2.0, or HARM 2.0.

“Russian paramilitaries are sowing chaos wherever they go and represent a significant challenge to American national security,” Wilson told RFE/RL on February 10. “We must ensure they are properly classified and defeated — and this law gives President Trump the means to do that.”

Closing the “rebranding” loophole.

The legislative push comes amid growing concerns that Russian private military contractors are not only escaping international sanctions, but expanding their global footprint. Lawmakers cited activity in the Western Hemisphere as particularly troubling.

Last fall, Ukrainian intelligence claimed that more than 120 Russian personnel were operating in Venezuela, training militants in infantry tactics, special forces operations, and drone warfare. In previous years, there were also media reports about the presence of Wagner mercenaries in the country.

RFE/RL was unable to confirm these allegations and reports.

At the heart of the HARM 2.0 Act is an effort to address what its sponsors see as a structural weakness in the current law, which has designated Wagner a terrorist organization. But the legal landscape changed dramatically after the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023.

In the wake of Prigozhin’s death, which followed a failed mutiny by his forces against the Kremlin, Wagner was reorganized under the direct supervision of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The once unified mercenary force later split into entities, including… Africa Corps and redout After the ministerial meeting.

Lawmakers assert that this restructuring allowed Moscow to evade sanctions and terrorism designations by renaming, redistributing and reallocating its assets while maintaining continuity of operations.

The new bill requires the State Department to designate these subsequent organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and mandates regular reviews to prevent future iterations from slipping through the legal cracks.

The legislation also calls for enhanced annual reporting on Russian mercenary financing, resource extraction operations, and their deployment in strategically sensitive areas such as Venezuela.

Confronting “twenty-first century proxy terrorism”

Experts say the bill reflects a growing recognition that Russia’s use of private military companies is not an aberration but a permanent feature of its foreign policy toolkit.

Glenn Howard, president of the Saratoga Foundation and a longtime Russian strategist, called the proposed designations a necessary response to what he called the modern form of indirect warfare.

“Wagner is a perfect example of 21st century proxy terrorism, where states outsource coercive violence to deniable quasi-state actors while retaining strategic control over their operations,” Howard told RFE/RL.

In countries such as Mali and the Central African Republic, forces linked to Wagner have embedded themselves within ruling structures, providing security services in exchange for access to mineral resources.

Howard noted that such arrangements allow Moscow to finance influence operations and secure strategic goods while protecting the Russian state from official accountability.

He said designating foreign terrorist organizations would be a “critical step” toward disrupting those financial and logistical networks. By targeting the revenue sources that support these arrangements, the United States could complicate Moscow’s ability to convert security assistance into geopolitical influence.

Supporters of the bill also say limiting Moscow’s access to resource deals in Africa and elsewhere could have implications for global supply chains, including access to rare earth minerals vital to advanced technologies.

The goal, as Wilson put it, is to ensure that Washington stops responding to Moscow’s maneuvers, but rather preempts them, and moves decisively to weaken and ultimately limit the Kremlin’s global influence.