The head of the Russian mercenary organization Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Wednesday described as “justified” the sanctions imposed on him by the European Union for many months for his role in the war in Ukraine, a few hours after the European Court of Justice annulled the sanctions against his elderly mother.

“As far as challenging the sanctions against me and against Wagner, I’m not going to challenge them and I believe that at this time they are fully justified,” he commented, according to his company’s press office, Concord.

“Unfortunately, I am on a business trip in Donbas”, added the 61-year-old Prigozhin, explaining that his mother appealed against the EU’s decision on her own initiative.

As in her son, in Violetta Prigozina, 83 years oldshe was banned from entering the EU and had her assets frozen from February 2022. The EU Council even said she was “the owner of Concord Management and Consulting LLC, part of the Concord Group”, which was founded by her son .

However, according to the Court of Justice of the EU, it turned out that Prigozina ceased to appear as the owner of this company since 2017. The fact that she is a relative of Prigozina is “not enough” to justify her inclusion on the blacklist, and there is no evidence that she carries responsibility for her son’s actions.

The annulment of the measures against Prigozina was the first decision taken by the European Court of Justice regarding the sanctions imposed on 1,7000 persons and entities in connection with the war in Ukraine.

It should be noted, however, that an EU representative said that the court’s decision only concerns the sanctions imposed on February 23, 2022, and that the decision of September 14 to renew them is still in force. A ban on entry into EU countries and a freeze on Prigozina’s assets therefore apply, although Brussels will review the decision and its consequences.