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☆ Russia to postpone $1.4 bln of Belarus debt payments for 10 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Russia will allow Belarus to postpone debt payments totalling $1.4 billion for 10 years, while also setting a fixed interest rate, according to draft laws approved by Russian lower house of parliament, or Duma, on Tuesday. At the start of the year, Belarus has asked Russia to restructure and refinance Minsk's 2022 debt obligations and Moscow would move all payments, redemptions and debt servicing due between March 2022 and April 2023 to 2028-2033, Timur Maksimov, Russian deputy finance minister, told Duma. Russia would also fix the interest rate at 12% per year instead of a floating rate tied to Russian OFZ rouble bond yields used before, he added. Belarus is Russia's ally in what the Kremlin calls "special military operation" in Ukraine which the Moscow launched in February. Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia has a plan to put children to work since so many men are fighting Putin's war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is planning to change its child labor laws to allow kids as young as 14 into the workforce more easily. They will no longer need approval from a guardian or a social services agency to be hired. Putin's unprovoked war in Ukraine pulled 300,000 people into battle, causing labor shortages. Russia is facing labor shortages caused by the absence of nearly 300,000 people from their jobs and onto the battlefield to fight Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war in Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported. "They have to go through countless checks, bureaucracy, and getting approvals, it is simply not profitable for employers."

☆ Russia to give central bank more time to complete Otkritie sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Andreas Rinke | Christina Amann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Russia's government has submitted a draft law to parliament that would extend the central bank's right to sell bailed-out lender Otkritie to Russia's no. 2 bank VTB (VTBR.MM) without a tender for another year. The central bank and Otkritie did not immediately respond to a request to comment. The central bank bailed out Otkritie, once Russia's largest private lender, in 2017 as part of a years-long campaign to clean up Russia's banking sector. Following the bail-out and an asset review, the central bank had been looking to offload Otkritie, with Italy's UniCredit rumoured as a suitor for the bank.

☆ Russia has likely deployed units meant to shoot its own retreating soldiers, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is likely using "blocking units" to threaten to shoot retreating soldiers, UK intel said. A UK intelligence briefing ascribed the move to "low morale and reluctance to fight." "These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been use in previous conflicts by Russian forces," it added. The defense ministry said that the tactic of shooting deserters "likely attests to the low quality, low morale, and indiscipline of Russian forces". Russian President Vladimir Putin has actively intervened to stop his troops retreating.

☆ Russian lawmaker who called for an end to Ukraine war injured in mysterious circumstances, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian lawmaker Anatoly Karpov received serious head injuries outside the State Duma, per multiple reports. A string of Russian officials have died in mysterious ways since the invasion of Ukraine began. Karpov's spokesperson Albert Stepanyan denied he had been injured at all, saying: "There was no attack ... there are no injuries," state media outlet TASS reported. He was taken to the neurocritical care unit at the Sklifosovsky Institute in Moscow with a fractured femur and severe head injuries, per RIA Novosti. "In the end ordinary people are the victims," he continued.

☆ Russia moves to ban 'LGBT propaganda' among all ages
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Caleb Davis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] People take part in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community rally "VIII St.Petersburg Pride" in St. Petersburg, Russia August 12, 2017. Under the legislation, citizens could be fined up to 400,000 roubles ($6,500) for promoting "LGBT propaganda". LGBT Network, which offers legal aid, has called the bill an "absurd" attempt to humiliate and discriminate against the LGBT community. "In fact, what is happening is the total state abolition of LGBT+," a representative from LGBT Network told Reuters. TikTok, a video-sharing app, was fined 3 million roubles this month for promoting "videos with LGBT themes", while Russia's media regulator asked publishing houses to look at withdrawing all books containing "LGBT propaganda" from sale.

The U.S. Air Force dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to intercept a pair of Russian bombers that flew close to Alaska on Monday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement. Air Defense Identification Zones are areas of airspace that require all aircraft to be identified, located and have their flight plan controlled "in the interest of national security," according to the Federal Aviation Administration. NORAD, a combined air defense organization of the United States and Canada, said the Russian activity was "not seen as a threat nor is the activity seen as provocative." The appearance of Russian bombers and their interception by U.S. fighter jets does come at a fraught time in the relationship between the two countries, however. He noted that his deputy, Pyotr Tolstoy, had previously proposed holding a referendum in Alaska, RBC reported.

☆ Discussing "sensitive" war topics, Russian Duma halts live broadcasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russia's Duma has indefinitely stopped broadcasting live plenary sessions to protect information from "our enemy", a leading lawmaker said on Tuesday as parliament's lower house debated topics related to the war in Ukraine. Russia uses the term "special military operation" to describe what Ukraine and its Western allies say is a war of imperial conquest. Another deputy, Andrei Svintsov, said the broadcast restriction was imposed because most issues under discussion at the moment related to the "special military operation". We understand that there may be some sensitive information from government representatives, from deputies," Svintsov said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReported by Filipp Lebedev; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Russian mayor is giving a bag of fresh vegetables to the families of men conscripted to fight in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A mayor in Russia is offering the families of conscripts a bag of vegetables each. On Russian TV, Evgeny Grigoriev said the package was a "one-off" distribution. BBC journalist Francis Scarr posted a translated clip from Russian TV to Twitter on Monday. Grigoriev said the package would contain fresh vegetables, including "cabbage, potato, carrot, beetroot, and onion." The Washington Post reported this week that Russian police and military officers were seizing men from restaurants, Metro stations, and their workplaces.

☆ Russian roulette: Is Putin serious about nuclear war, or bluffing?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

On Oct. 26, President Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian state television overseeing a practice run of Russia's strategic nuclear deterrence forces. The conflict has revived Cold War-era fears of nuclear war across the region. In August, a Ukrainian official said that 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed, though another source said the number could be far higher. (President Zelensky previously estimated that 30% of Ukraine's power stations have been damaged or destroyed, although the figure is now likely to be greater.) In a wide-ranging answer, Putin had offered, almost as an aside, that Russian victims of nuclear war "will go to heaven as martyrs" while Western citizens would perish without having "time to repent."

☆ Russian Leaders Welcome Referendum Result as Ukraine Conflict Deepens
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW—Russian leaders have been quick to welcome the outcome of the the referendums that pave the way for occupied regions of Ukraine to be incorporated in the Russian Federation, escalating the conflict with Kyiv and Western governments, which have dismissed the votes as a sham. Vyacheslav Volodin , speaker of the State Duma, wrote on Telegram Wednesday that the outcome would “save millions of people from genocide,” after results released Tuesday evening claimed to show that Russian-controlled Luhansk and areas of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia overwhelmingly supported becoming part of Russia.

☆ Ukraine annexation votes to end amid Russian mobilisation exodus
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

A man walks with his bicycle past banners informing about a referendum on the joining of Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine to Russia, in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine September 26, 2022. The mobilisation has also seen the first sustained criticism of the authorities within state-controlled media since the war began. Over the weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would defend any territory it annexes using any weapons in its arsenal. Even traditional Russian allies such as Serbia and Kazakhstan have said they will not recognise the annexation votes. When it held a referendum in Crimea after seizing that peninsula in 2014, it declared 97% of people had voted for annexation.

☆ Senior Russian lawmakers express concern over Putin's mobilization drive 'excesses'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Amid increasing public anger about Russia's mobilization drive, two of the country's most senior lawmakers ordered regional officials to solve the “excesses” that have stoked protests and seen flocks of military-age men attempt to flee. “Appeals are coming in,” Volodin, speaker of the Duma, Russia’s lower chamber of Parliament, said in a post Sunday. Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin in St. Petersburg in April. It said hundreds of people had been detained by police across Russia for protesting against the mobilization and the war. The territory controlled by Russian or Russian-backed forces in the four regions represents about 15% of Ukrainian territory.

☆ Putin allies express concern over mobilisation 'excesses'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Governor of the Novgorod region Andrei Nikitin in the city of Veliky Novgorod, Russia, September 21, 2022. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSept 25 (Reuters) - Russia's two most senior lawmakers on Sunday addressed a string of complaints about Russia's mobilisation drive, ordering regional officials to get a handle on the situation and swiftly solve the "excesses" that have stoked public anger. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRussia's top two parliamentarians, both close Putin allies, explicitly addressed public anger at the way the mobilisation drive was unfolding. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower chamber, also expressed concern in a separate post. The Kremlin has twice denied it actually plans to draft more than one million, following two separate reports in independent Russian media outlets.

☆ Russia parliament may study annexation of occupied Ukraine on Thursday, TASS reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoLONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, may debate bills incorporating Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia on Sept. 29, the state-run TASS news agency said on Saturday, citing an unnamed source. Moscow launched referendums on joining Russia in the four occupied regions of Ukraine on Friday, drawing condemnation from Kyiv and Western nations, who dismissed the votes as a sham and pledged not to recognise their results. read morePro-Moscow authorities have made clear they consider the votes to be a foregone conclusion. An official in Luhansk region announced the turnout after two days of voting was 45.9% while in Zaporizhzhia it was 35.5%, Russian agencies said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and David LjunggrenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The main challenge the Russian military faces after almost seven months at war looks likely to remain a basic one: manpower. Russia had about 1 million active personnel at the start, according to the institute’s estimates, though it did not dedicate all its troops to Ukraine. Both of these have made it hard to identify how the new additions to the Russian military could be trained or used effectively in this war. ‘New territory takes time’The “partial mobilization” comes after Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive broke through Russian lines outside Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most populous city. The military support of mobilization and the veneer of territorial security that annexation could provide will likely take a while, however.

☆ Russian politicians shouldn't be drafted to fight in Ukraine because they need to stay and explain the war, lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Dmitry Vyatkin said that it is their "duty" to stay behind and explain the importance of the war. His comments came after one member of the State Duma requested to join the fight. His speech came after another member of the State Duma, who has a military background, said he wanted to join the fighting in Ukraine, Kommersant reported. Yury Shyvtkin, who is also a member of the United Russia political party, had previously been in the army between 1986 to 1992, Kommersant reported. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that around 300,000 people would be called up immediately as part of the mobilization.

☆ Russian soldiers who desert their posts could face up to 10 years in jail under legislation that passed the lower house of parliament a day before Putin announced 'partial mobilization'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's lower house of parliament approved a bill that toughens punishments for soldiers. The bill increases jail time for soldiers deserting their posts and adds a reference to "mobilization." The law was approved just a day before President Putin announced a "partial mobilization." The State Duma passed the bill on Tuesday that increases jail time for soldiers who desert their unit from five years to up to 10 years. The bill passed just a day before Putin announced plans for a "partial mobilization" of the country's military reserve forces, drafting about 300,000 reservists, according to The Washington Post.

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Wednesday, a move that threatens to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow. US President Joe Biden condemned the mobilization and the Kremlin’s planned votes, during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. “Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened, but no one threatened Russia – and no one other than Russia sought conflict,” Biden added. A billboard promoting contract army service, with the slogan "Serving Russia is a real job," in St. Petersburg. On Tuesday, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, amended the law on military service, toughening the punishment for violation of military service duties – such as desertion and evasion from service – according to state news agency TASS.

☆ Russian parliament toughens punishment for crimes during military mobilisation
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin delivers a speech during a session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in Moscow, Russia April 7, 2022. Sputnik/Alexander Astafyev/Pool via REUTERSMOSCOW, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to toughen punishments for a host of crimes such as desertion, damage to military property and insubordination if they are committed during military mobilisation or combat situations. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAccording to a copy of the bill, seen by Reuters, voluntary surrender would become a crime for Russian military personnel, punishable by 10 years in prison. read moreBut some Russian politicians and some nationalists have called for a full mobilisation. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian state media airs lawmaker's threat to nuke Britain and Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian lawmaker threatened Britain and Germany with nuclear strikes on state TV. The host suggested that Russia should have hit the Queen's funeral, taking out many heads of state. "60 Minutes" is a vehicle for pro-Russian propaganda and frequently airs misleading and false information about the war in Ukraine. Russian talk of nuclear strikes has been dismissed by some experts as irresponsible "saber-rattling," as Insider reported in March. Putin made a veiled threat to the west in his speech at the outbreak of war on February 24.

☆ Russian-backed separatists in Kherson say they will hold vote on joining Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Russian-installed officials in the Kherson region of Ukraine said they have decided to hold a referendum on joining Russia and have urged the Kremlin to give its permission as soon as possible, the separatist head of the region said on Tuesday. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed head of Kherson, said he hoped Kherson would become "a part of Russia, a fully-fledged subject of a united country." Saldo said Kherson joining Russia would "secure our region" and be a "triumph of historical justice." read moreShortly after Saldo's announcement about plans for a vote in Kherson, the head of Russia's parliament said he would support the regions joining Russia.

☆ Putin is facing pressure from Russia's hawkish nationalists who want all-out war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

As the nationalists' most prominent figurehead, Igor Girkin has been among the most searing in his criticism of Russia's military strategy. Addressing his followers last week, Girkin said: "The war in Ukraine will continue until the complete defeat of Russia. The Smolninskoye District Court ruled that the municipal council should be dissolved and subsequently charged the deputies with "discrediting" Russia's military. The widespread purging of liberals and journalists that occurred in the early days of the Ukraine war is relatively straightforward in Russia. But cracking down on ultra- nationalists is more dangerous and may have dire consequences – especially if Russia loses the war.

☆ Svetlana Tihanovskaia a primit statut oficial în Lituania
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-05 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Lituania i-a acordat, luni, liderei opoziției belaruse, Svetlana Tihanovskaia, precum și echipei sale, statut oficial în această țară, relatează Agerpres, care citează DPA. ”Începând de astăzi, reprezentarea belarusă democratică în Lituania este o instituție acreditată”, a declarat ministrul lituanian de externe, Gabrielius Landsbergis. Șeful diplomației lituaniene a mai spus că această acreditare reprezintă un pas simbolic către recunoașterea legală a societății civile belaruse, precum și a eforturilor ei pentru realizarea unor schimbări democratice în această țară. Aceasta, la rândul ei, a mulţumit Lituaniei pentru ”pasul important de a delegitima regimul Lukaşenko” prin acceptarea unei reprezentanţe a opoziţiei belaruse. ”Este uimitoare imprudenţa cu care anumite state (…) continuă să se amestece în afacerile interne ale Belarusului”, a scris pe Telegram preşedintele Comisiei de Politică Externă din Duma de Stat a Rusiei, Leonid Sluţki.

Persons: Svetlana Tihanovskaia, Lukașenko, Duma de Stat, Leonid Sluţki Locations: Lituania, Agerpres, lituanian, Lituaniei, Rusia, Belarusului, Duma de, Rusiei

„Începând de astăzi, reprezentarea belarusă democratică în Lituania este o instituție acreditată”, a declarat ministrul lituanian de externe, Gabrielius Landsbergis. Însă această acreditare reprezintă un pas simbolic către recunoașterea legală a societății civile belaruse și a efortului ei pentru realizarea unor schimbări democratice în propria țară, a mai spus șeful diplomației lituaniene. UE nu-l mai recunoaște pe Lukașenko șef al statului și a impus sancțiuni împotriva lui și a susținătorilor săi în urma reprimării mișcării de opoziție. Tihanovskaia a mulțumit Lituaniei pentru ''pasul important de a delegitima regimul Lukașenko'' prin acceptarea unei reprezentanțe a opoziției belaruse. ''Acest statut presupune că poporul belarus este acum reprezentat într-o țară a UE'', consideră ea.

Persons: Svetlana Tihanovskaia, Aleksandr Lukașenko, Lukașenko, Tihanovskaia, Duma de Stat Locations: Lituania, lituanian, Lituaniei, Belarusului, Duma de, Rusiei

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