US issues sanctions on Russian, Central African Republic entities over Wagner ties

The U.S. has sanctioned two entities in Russia and the Central African Republic for what the Treasury Department on Friday said were efforts to advance Moscow's "malign activities" in the African nation in part by enabling the Wagner mercenary group. The Russian and CAR entities targeted sought to benefit financially "from illicit natural resource extraction and provided material and financial support to the Wagner Group and other organizations" tied to Wagner's former owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who died in a 2023 plane explosion in Russia, the U.S. Treasury said.