“Due to our sanctions and export controls, Wagner is seeking suppliers worldwide to support its military operations in Ukraine. Today we can confirm that North Korea has made the first deliveries of weapons to Wagner, who paid for the equipment,” Kirby said. during the virtual press conference.

He added that last month’s deliveries included rockets; the Pyongyang regime plans to continue supporting Russia, despite public denials.

The spokesperson believed that the role of Wagner and Prigozhin in Russia has definitely increased in recent months, following which some Russian military commanders report to this group.

“Mr. Prigozhin has publicly criticized Russian generals and ministry officials for their achievements in Ukraine… It is quite obvious to us that Wagner is becoming a competitive center of power for the Russian military and other ministries,” he said.

He also referred to US intelligence reports that 50,000 people are fighting in Ukraine. Wagner’s soldiers, 40,000 of them – they are prisoners. Many of them fight in Bakhmut.

“It looks like Mr. Prigozhin is ready to throw the Russian bodies into a meat grinder in Bakhmut. In fact, around 1,000 Wagner fighters have been killed in action in the last few weeks alone. they were convicts.” said Kirby.

On Wednesday, the US Department of Commerce announced tougher sanctions against the so-called Wagner Group. It was recognized as a military end user, thus facing new restrictions on access to technology produced anywhere in the world using American technology.

According to American sources, the Wagner Group receives 100 million dollars a month from the Russian budget.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

osk/ badly/