Wagner Group trying to buy, route weapons through Mali to help Russia, State Department says

Russia’s Wagner mercenary force has attempted to hide efforts to obtain military equipment internationally for use in the war in Ukraine and is seeking to transit such supplies through Mali, the United States State Department said.

The private mercenary force, which is fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, is willing to use false paperwork to ship military equipment through Mali, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at a news briefing on Monday.

 "In fact, there are indications that Wagner has been attempting to purchase military systems from foreign suppliers and route these weapons through Mali as a third party," the US diplomat said. "We have not seen as of yet that any indications of these acquisitions have been finalized or executed," he acknowledged, "But we are monitoring the situation closely. We have sanctioned a number of entities and individuals across multiple continents that support Wagner’s military operations." "And we will have more to share on this question soon," Miller said.