Lapin and PMC Wagner Center fell under EU sanctions

Under the new EU sanctions were 71 people and 33 structures. Among them are the governors of the Voronezh region, Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, two banks operating in the DPR and LPR, as well as Positive Technologies Alexander Lapin

The European Union included in the 11th package of anti-Russian sanctions the Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Alexander Lapin, follows from a document on the website of the European Commission.

As a basis for including the military leader in the list, it is indicated that the troops led by him "take a direct part" in the hostilities in Ukraine .

Earlier, the EU recalled, Lapin served as commander of the Central Military District, including when the conflict had already begun. “As such, he commanded the Russian offensive of 2022 in the Chernihiv and Sumy directions,” the justification says. According to the European Union, Lapin "is responsible for supporting and implementing actions and policies that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."

The sanctions list also included PMC Wagner Center. Its website states that it is an “innovation centre, technopark and modern co-working space for true patriots”, which will become “a place of attraction for people, businesses that want to create and develop projects and technologies to improve the defense capability and security of RUSSIA.”

The EU notes that the work of this center is “closely connected” with the Wagner PMC “through [its founder] Yevgeny Prigozhin.” “He (center. -) is responsible for material support for actions that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the document says.

In total, 71 people and 33 structures fell under the new EU sanctions. Among them are Deputy Minister of Defense Tatyana Shevtsova, Minister of Culture of Crimea Tatyana Manezhina, as well as the governors of the Voronezh Region, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories Alexander Gusev, Veniamin Kondratiev and Vladimir Vladimirov. Restrictive measures have also been introduced against businessman Artem Uss, the son of the former governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexander Uss. Political scientist Sergei Karaganov (who recently published an article with the subtitle “The use of nuclear weapons can save humanity from a global catastrophe”), the press secretary of Rosneft, and the host of TV shows on Channel One, including “However,” Mikhail Leontiev, are now under sanctions. , Izvestia correspondent Viktor Sineok, STLC General DIRECTOR Yevgeny Dietrich.

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Of the organizations, the Russian cybersecurity company PJSC Group Positive (Positive Technologies) fell under the sanctions. According to the EU, it "operates in the Russian IT sector with a license administered by the FSB." In addition, the list includes two banks operating on the territory of the DPR and LPR, these are the Russian TsMRBank and the International Settlement Bank, which is registered in South Ossetia. Also under the sanctions was the Dzerzhinsky plant named after. Sverdlov (part of Rostec). Rostec told RBC that the sanctions do not fundamentally change anything for the corporation.

“I did not perceive it in any way and will not affect it in any way - I do not attach any importance to this. And I don’t even consider it news, ”Vladimir Solodov, governor of the Kamchatka Territory, told RBC.

“I am surprised at the slowness of the Europeans in this matter. For more than a year STLC has been under blocking sanctions from the EU, the US and the UK . <...> STLC remains a reliable partner for our creditors and investors. The decision to impose personal sanctions testifies to the good pace of my work,” Dietrich told RBC.

“The EU decision to impose sanctions against Positive Technologies is based on the fact that the company has an FSB license and does not affect the company's business in any way . Obtaining a license from the FSB is a prerequisite for the work of all the leading players in the cybersecurity market,” Positive Technologies said.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly stressed that they consider Western sanctions illegal. “No matter how much they try to fulfill and invent all this, it will not change anything for us. We have adapted to the new reality. <...> In the European Union, they themselves admit that the arsenal of means of pressure on Russia has, in principle, been exhausted, ”said Maria Zakharova , a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, in May . She added that Russia "will prepare a verified response."

General Lapin

Lapin, during the military operation in Ukraine, commanded the Center group, which participated in the battles for Lisichansk. Last July he received the title of Hero of Russia.

However, last fall, the military leader was sharply criticized by the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who accused him of the crisis in the Liman direction. According to Kadyrov, he warned the head of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, about the danger, but he "assured that he had no doubts about Lapin's leadership talent." “A week later, Lapin moves his headquarters to Starobilsk, a hundred kilometers from his subordinates, while he himself sits out in Lugansk. How can you quickly manage units, being 150 km away from them? Due to the lack of elementary military logistics, today we have left several settlements and a large tract of territory,” Kadyrov wrote on October 1 and said that Lapin was “covered from above by leaders in the General Staff.”

At the end of October, Kadyrov again criticized Lapin and said that the general was to blame for the breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of ​​​​the settlements of Terny, Torskoye and Yampolovka. “For the past few days, I have been trying to establish contact with him through my special forces commanders. But my guys can't find it. Shouldn't the commander be in his place and in touch with his colleagues? - said the head of Chechnya.

A few days later, the Grozny TV channel and a RBC source announced Lapin's resignation from the post of commander of the Center group. In January, according to the interlocutor of RBC, Lapin was appointed chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces.

The Kremlin, commenting on Kadyrov's accusations, said that the heads of the regions can express their point of view and that "Kadyrov has done a lot from the very beginning of the special military operation" and continues to make a "very big contribution" to the campaign. However, "even in difficult moments, all the same, probably, emotions should be excluded from any assessments," said Dmitry Peskov , press secretary of the president .