Visitors wearing military camouflage stand at the entrance of the ‘PMC Wagner Centre,’ in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nov. 4, 2022. U.S. officials are gathering intelligence related to the group’s activities in countries such as the Central African Republic, Mali and Serbia.
AP Photo

Meanwhile, Russia, aided by Wagner, continues to lose people on the battlefield in Ukraine, particularly in Bakhmut. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank, assessed last week that Wagner’s forces are serving in a “chiefly attritional role” in the city and have “likely become degraded to a near-debilitating extent.”

“Russians have really poured a lot of effort into Bakhmut. It’s largely been a struggle fought by promotion in the Wagner group. [It] has largely been a battle fought with, quite frankly, convicts,” a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday. “In fact, we believe … that 90 percent of the casualties that he has suffered have been, in fact, convicts.”

American officials are planning additional actions against Wagner to limit its role in Ukraine. The U.S. has already sanctioned Prigozhin, Wagner and its network, but additional financial measures are likely forthcoming.