,,iii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #fbd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #af1 #bjbj,mr4 ,coons 7for himself and ,mr4 ,rubio7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of the ,senate that the activities of ,russian national ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin and his affiliated entities pose a threat to the national interests and national security of the ,united ,states4 ,whereas ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin is a ,russian national who has maintained close personal ties with ,russian ,federation ,president ,vladimir ,putin since the early #bjjjs2 ,whereas ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin is the presumed financier of the ,wagner ,group1 also known as the ,private ,military ,company 7,,pmc7 ,wagner1 a ,russian mercenary organization staffed by current and former military and intelligence officers1 and is the financier of the ,internet ,research ,agency and other organizations engaged in online influence operations2 ,whereas entities such as ,wagner have been linked to the ,government of the ,russian ,federation and are used to conduct military action1 subversive operations1 and disinformation campaigns on the ,government's behalf while giving it an appearance of plausible deniability2 ,whereas the ,wagner ,group was involved in the ,russian ,federation's military takeover and illegal annexation of ,ukraine's ,crimea region in ,february and ,march #bjad1 and in the subsequent insurgencies in the eastern ,ukrainian regions of ,donetsk and ,luhansk2 ,whereas the ,wagner ,group has been providing military support to the regime of ,bashar al-,assad in ,syria since #bjae1 fighting alongside its forces and helping it recapture significant parts of the country2 ,whereas1 on ,february #g1 #bjah1 the ,wagner ,group led an armed assault on ,united ,states troops near the city of ,deir al-,zour in eastern ,syria1 prompting a ,united ,states counterattack1 in what the ,washington ,post has described as 8the deadliest ,united ,states-,russia clash since the ,cold ,war02 ,whereas the ,wagner ,group has supported ,khalifa ,haftar and his ,libyan ,national ,army by providing mercenaries1 artillery1 tanks1 drones1 and ammunition in violation of a ,united ,nations arms embargo1 with ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin personally attending a meeting between ,haftar and ,russian ,defense ,minister ,sergei ,shoigu in ,moscow on ,november #g1 #bjah2 ,whereas a ,united ,nations report made public on ,may #f1 #bjbj1 concluded that the ,wagner ,group has operated up to #a1bjj military contractors in ,libya1 including snipers and specialized military teams1 serving 8as an effective force multiplier0 for ,haftar's army2 ,whereas ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin and his affiliated entities have been tied to influence operations on behalf of the ,government of the ,russian ,federation in ,africa1 with entities associated with ,prigozhin reportedly operating in at least #bj countries1 including the ,central ,african ,republic1 ,madagascar1 ,mozambique1 and ,sudan2 ,whereas about #bce ,russian military and private security personnel have deployed to the ,central ,african ,republic since #bjag1 some of whom are reportedly employed by the ,wagner ,group1 and some of whom provide personal security for ,president ,faustin-,archange ,touadra2 ,whereas ,russian national ,valery ,zakharov1 who is reportedly a former intelligence official1 has served as a top national security advisor to ,central ,african ,republic ,president ,faustin-,archange ,touadra since at least #bjah2 ,whereas1 in ,july #bjah1 ,russian journalists ,orkhan ,dzhemal1 ,kirill ,radchenko1 and ,alexander ,rastorguyev were murdered in the ,central ,african ,republic while working on a documentary about the activities of the ,wagner ,group in that country2 ,whereas neither the ,government of the ,central ,african ,republic nor the ,government of the ,russian ,federation are conducting credible and thorough investigations into the murder of these #c journalists2 ,whereas1 according to an investigation by the ,london-based ,dossier ,center1 the journalists had been tracked by officers of the ,central ,african ,republic gendarmerie who were in close communication with ,russian nationals with ties to ,prigozhin1 including ,alexander ,sotov1 who in turn was reportedly in contact with ,zakharov2 ,whereas companies owned by ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin reportedly had made regular payments to senior ,central ,african ,republic officials1 including the ,police ,chief and the ,minister of ,national ,security2 ,whereas1 on ,december #bj1 #bjaf1 the ,department of the ,treasury designated ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin under ,executive ,order #acffa1 ,blocking ,property of ,additional ,persons ,contributing to the ,situation in ,ukraine1for having materially assisted1 sponsored1 or provided financial1 material1 or technological support for1 or goods or services in support of1 senior officials of the ,russian ,federation2 ,whereas1 on ,june #bj1 #bjag1 the ,department of the ,treasury designated the ,wagner ,group under ,executive ,order #acffj1 ,blocking ,property of ,certain ,persons ,contributing to the ,situation in ,ukraine1for being responsible for or complicit in1 or having engaged in1 directly or indirectly1 actions or policies that threaten the peace1 security1 stability1 sovereignty1 or territorial integrity of ,ukraine2 ,whereas1 on ,march #ae1 #bjah1 the ,department of the ,treasury designated ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin1 his affiliated entities1 including the ,internet ,research ,agency1 and his subordinates under ,executive ,order #acfid1 ,blocking the ,property of ,certain ,persons ,engaging in ,significant ,malicious ,cyber-,enabled ,activities1 for being involved in interfering with ,united ,states election processes or institutions2 ,whereas1 on ,february #af1 #bjah1 the ,department of ,justice announced the indictment of ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin and his affiliated entities1 including the ,internet ,research ,agency1 for engaging in operations to interfere with the ,united ,states political system1 including the #bjaf ,united ,states presidential election and conducting information warfare against the ,united ,states2 ,whereas1 on ,september #bj1 #bjah1 the ,department of ,state added ,prigozhin1 his affiliated entities1 including the ,internet ,research ,agency1 and the ,wagner ,group to the list of persons identified as part of1 or operating for or on behalf of1 the defense or intelligence sectors of the ,government of the ,russian ,federation under section #bca of the ,countering ,america's ,adversaries ,through ,sanctions ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #iebe72 ,whereas1 on ,september #cj1 #bjai1 under ,executive ,order #achdh1 the ,department of the ,treasury took additional steps to increase pressure on ,prigozhin by designating physical assets--#c aircraft and a yacht--and #c associated front companies of his2 ,whereas1 on ,february #ae1 #bjai1 ,gavin ,williamson1 then-,united ,kingdom ,defense ,secretary1 said that the clandestine use of proxies1 mercenary armies like the infamous and unaccountable ,wagner ,group1 allows the ,kremlin to get away with murder while denying the blood on their hands2 ,whereas1 on ,december #ac1 #bjah1 ,john ,bolton1 then-,assistant to the ,president for ,national ,security ,affairs1 affirmed that the predatory practices pursued by ,china and ,russia ''' in ,africa ''' pose a significant threat to ,united ,states national security interests2 and ,whereas ,general ,stephen ,j4 ,townsend1 ,commander of the ,united ,states ,africa ,command1 on ,april #b1 #bjai1 expressed great concern about the ,wagner group1 and1 on ,january #cj1 #bjbj1 noted that private military contractors such as ,wagner1 are leading the fight in ,libya against the ,,un-backed and ,u4,s4-recognized ,government of ,national ,accord3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the sense of the ,senate that-- 7#a7 the activities of ,russian national ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin1 his affiliated entities1 and the ,wagner ,group pose a threat to the national interests and national security of the ,united ,states2 and 7#b7 the ,president1 in addition to maintaining sanctions on ,yevgeniy ,prigozhin1 his affiliated entities1 and the ,wagner ,group1 should work with ,congress to develop and execute a strategy drawing on the multiple instruments of ,united ,states national power available to the ,president1 to counter the malign influence and activities of ,prigozhin1 the entities linked to him1 and the ,wagner ,group4