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☆ Russia confirms it's going to make it more painful for companies to quit the country
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-17 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has confirmed plans to raise a tax on foreign companies quitting the country. AdvertisementRussia has confirmed it will make it more expensive for foreign companies to quit the country. In March, RBC reported companies leaving Russia had already paid 35.7 billion rubles, or about $387 million, into Russia's budget. The process of leaving Russia is often complex, thorny, and costly. AdvertisementIn March, a Reuters analysis found that foreign companies had incurred costs of more than $107 billion in writedowns and lost revenue.

Persons: —, Anton Siluanov, Siluanov, McDonald's, Alexei Moiseyev, Yuri Nikolaev, Nikolaev, LeaveRussia Organizations: Service, RBC, Partners, Kyiv Institute of Economics Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, writedowns, West

☆ Gazprom: Russian oil giant posts first annual loss in 20 years as sales to Europe collapse
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Moscow — Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom plunged to a net loss of 629 billion rubles ($6.9 billion) in 2023, its first annual loss in more than 20 years, as sales to Europe plummeted in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Analysts had expected net income of 447 billion rubles ($4.9 billion) in 2023, according to Interfax news agency. The company made a net profit of 1.2 trillion ($13.1 billion) rubles in 2022, the year Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s gas exports to Europe, once its primary export market, have slumped largely because of the political fallout from the conflict in Ukraine. The company’s core profit, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization known as EBITDA, dropped to 618.38 billion rubles ($6.7 billion) last year from 2.79 trillion rubles ($30.4 billion) in 2022, according to Reuters’ calculations.

Persons: Alexei Miller, Vladimir Putin, Ronald Smith Organizations: Gazprom, Analysts, Reuters, BCS Global Markets Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, St . Petersburg, Europe

☆ Gazprom plunges to first annual loss in 20 years as trade with Europe hit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom said on Thursday it plunged to a net loss of 629 billion rubles ($6.9 billion) in 2023, its first annual loss in more than 20 years, amid dwindling gas trade with Europe, once its main sales market. Analysts had expected net income of 447 billion rubles, according to Interfax news agency. Gazprom's 2023 loss followed a net profit of 1.2 trillion roubles in 2022. It said on Thursday it made a net loss of 364 billion roubles from sales in 2023, in contrast to a profit of 1.9 trillion roubles in 2022. Its total revenue fell to 8.5 trillion rubles last year from 11.7 trillion in 2022.

Persons: Alexei Miller, Vladimir Putin, Ronald Smith Organizations: Gazprom, Saint Petersburg, Soviet, Analysts, BCS Global Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Europe, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Moldova, St . Petersburg, Moscow

☆ Meet the woman who engineered Russia's wartime economy and helped secure another term for Putin
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina has played a key role in stabilizing Russia's sanctions-hit economy. It's also aimed at the woman behind him: Elvira Nabiullina, the country's central bank governor, who plays a chief role in keeping Russia's wartime economy ticking. At the time, she was the first woman to lead a Group of Eight, or G8, central bank. In 2015, Euromoney, a finance trade publication, named Nabiullina Central Bank Governor of the Year. In December, she issued a warning that Russia's economy was at risk of overheating.

Persons: Elvira Nabiullina, —, Putin, It's, Nabiullina, Daniel McDowell, McDowell, wined, Christine Lagarde, Nabiullina —, Richard Portes, Portes —, Portes, Anders Åslund, Åslund, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka, Yaroslav Kuzminov, Kuzminov, Nabiullina's, Alan Harvey, Herman Gref —, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Maxim Shemetov, Michel Camdessus, she's, isn't, Sergei Aleksashenko, Alexei Makarkin, Vladimir Pesnya, Nabiulina, let's Organizations: Ukraine, Service, Russian, KGB, Syracuse University, Kremlin, International Monetary Fund, US, London Business School, Moscow Times, Bloomberg, Higher School of Economics, —, Moscow State University, SNS, USSR, Industrial Union Board, Gref, Central Bank Governor, Nabiullina Central Bank Governor, Banker, Central Banker, IMF, Monetary Fund, Financial Times, Government, Political Technologies, Wall Street Journal, RBC, Politico Europe Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Brussels, Nabiullina, Swedish, Moscow, Ufa, Central Russia, Tatars, Crimea, Euromoney, Europe, steadying

☆ Russia boasts it is beating sanctions, but its longer-term prospects are bleak
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Far from buckling under their weight, the Russian economy is in fact 1% larger than it was on the eve of the invasion. India and China now account for 90% of Russian oil exports, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Noemi Cassanelli/CNNThere’s little sign that ordinary Russians have been drastically impacted by Western sanctions. Sanctions will have a long-term impact on the Russian economy, according to the European Commission. Nabiullina said the Russian economy was like a car trying to go too fast.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Chemezov, ” Chemezov, Scott Peterson, Alexander Novak, Christine Abely, “, ”, SWIFT, Alexei Mordashov, Noemi Cassanelli, Geoffrey Pyatt, Rachel Lyngaas, —, Alexander Nemenov, Elvira Nabiullina, Nabiullina, Natalia Kolesnikova, ” Abely Organizations: CNN, Atlantic Council, Russia, West ., Shipping, Windward, Reuters, US Treasury Department, United Arab Emirates, Crime Agency, US Treasury, “, Bank of, European, US, Financial Times, Russian Central Bank, Getty, Producers, International Energy Agency Locations: United States, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Western, Sviatohirsk, Donetsk region, Asia, West, West . India, China, India, Volgograd, Turkey, UAE, Bank of Finland, Hong Kong, Europe, Egypt, Thailand, Moscow, Kazakhstan, Soviet Russia, AFP, Beijing

☆ Russia's Gazprom to supply extra gas to Hungary and China this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Gazprom PAO FollowOct 22 (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) will supply extra gas to Hungary through the coming winter and will also provide China with an additional 600 million cubic metres this year on top of contractual obligations, TASS news agency quoted its boss Alexei Miller as saying. Orban told Putin when they met in Beijing on Tuesday that Hungary never wanted to oppose Russia and was trying to salvage bilateral contacts. "And we have an agreement that we will supply additional volumes on an ongoing basis in the coming winter", he said. "We regularly supply additional volumes to the Chinese market. This year, I think (the extra amount) will be 600 million cubic meters of gas," he was quoted as saying.

Persons: Alexei Miller, Vladimir Putin, Miller, Viktor Orban, Orban, Putin, Gazprom's Miller, Mark Trevelyan, David Holmes Organizations: Gazprom PAO, Gazprom, Investigations, European Union, Putin, NATO, Ukraine, EU, Thomson Locations: Hungary, China, Russian, Europe, Ukraine, Baltic, Beijing, Russia, U.S

☆ Who is in Putin's delegation to China - and who stayed in Moscow?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 18, 2023. Sputnik/Dmitry Azarov/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a visit to China, his second only trip outside the former Soviet Union since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Who is in the Russian delegation with Putin - and who stayed in Russia? Before Putin left for China, he was shown at a meeting with defence and spy chiefs at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. The following top officials are thought to be in Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Azarov, Alexander Novak, Sergei Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, Maxim Oreshkin, Dmitry Peskov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Anton Siluanov, Maxim Reshetnikov, Dmitry Shugaev, Yuri Chikhanchin, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Igor Morgulov, Igor Sechin, Alexei Miller, Alexei Likhachev, Andrei Kostin, Igor Shuvalov, Leonid Mikhelson, Oleg Belozyorov, Kirill Dmitriev, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Nikolai Patrushev, Alexander Bortnikov, Dmitry Medvedev, Anton Vaino, Sergei Kiriyenko, Mikhail Mishustin, Viktor Zolotov, Sergei Naryshkin, Guy Faulconbridge, Muralikumar Organizations: Forum, Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Soviet Union, Putin, Kremlin, Central Bank Governor, Federal Service for Military, Gazprom, VEB, Russian, Russian Direct Investment, Russia Security, Federal Security Service, Russia's Foreign Intelligence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Ukraine, Russia, CHINA, North Korea, China BUSINESSPERSONS, Moscow, Russian

REUTERS/Wu Hong/Pool/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW/BEIJING, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China this week to meet Xi Jinping, the Kremlin chief's first trip outside the former Soviet Union this year. What are the five things to watch for at the meeting? Li was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 for an arms deal he secured with Russia in an earlier role. Xi also awarded Putin a friendship medal in 2018, saying that "Putin is my best close friend". Putin said in March that he had invited Xi to his private apartment in the Kremlin.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Wu Hong, Li Shangfu, Li, General Liu Zhenli, Putin, Xi, Alexei Miller, Igor Sechin, Maxim Reshetnikov, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center, REUTERS, Kremlin, Russia, People's Liberation Army, PLA, U.S . Department of Defence, China, United, Gazprom, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, MOSCOW, BEIJING, Soviet Union, U.S, Russia, Xiapu, Ukraine, United States, India, Moscow, Kremlin, Siberia, Mongolia, Asia, Germany

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two. Biden has referred to Xi as a "dictator" and has said Putin is a "killer" and a leader who cannot remain in power. Since the Ukraine war, Putin has mostly stayed within the former Soviet Union, though he visited Iran last year for talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States has warned China against supplying Putin with weapons as Russia, a $2 trillion economy, battles Ukrainian forces backed by the United States and the European Union.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Mikhail Tereshchenko, Putin, Xi Putin, Xi, Joe Biden, Graham Allison, Bill Clinton, Biden, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mao Zedong, Alexander Gabuev, Gabuev, Li Shangfu, Alexei Miller, Igor Sechin, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: Kremlin, Sputnik, Forum, Soviet Union, U.S, Harvard University, Reuters, Soviet, United, European Union, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Gazprom, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, China, USSR, MOSCOW, BEIJING, United States, Beijing, Hague, Ukraine, Europe, U.S, Soviet Union, Iran, Communist China, Ukrainian, Siberia, Mongolia

The sources said other senior Russian energy officials would also be in the delegation. Gazprom, the world's biggest natural gas producer, and Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, did not immediately reply to requests for comments. The proposed pipeline would bring gas from the Yamal peninsula fields in western Siberia to China, the world's top energy consumer and a growing gas consumer. China and Russia have yet to agree on the terms of gas deliveries via the route, including pricing. Negotiations are complex, in part because China is not expected to need more gas until after 2030, industry analysts said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Rosneft Igor Sechin, Yuri Trutnev, Alexei Miller, Igor Sechin, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Xi Jinping, Sechin, Xi, Vladimir Soldatkin, Gareth Jones, Guy Faulconbridge, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Zvezda, Gazprom, Reuters, China's, Moscow, Thomson Locations: Bolshoy Kamen, Vladivostok, Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, China, Beijing, Moscow, Russian, Asia, Europe, Siberia, Mongolia

☆ A timeline of 5 major hurdles Russia's imposed on Western firms trying to exit the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Russian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours. Some companies trying to exit Russia recently are facing demands of even steeper discounts, Reuters reported on August 25, citing three persons familiar with exit processes for foreign companies. Both firms had been trying to exit Russia for months before the seizures, before the sudden takeover. In July, Moscow targeted the Russian assets of food and beverage giants Danone and Carlsberg for seizures. A month later, in September, Russia demanded foreign banks unfreeze Russian assets if they wanted to exit the market.

Persons: Linklaters, —, Vladimir Putin's, Germany's, Fortum —, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Alexei Moiseev Organizations: Service, Yale University, Russia, Russian, Novaya Gazeta, Companies, Kremlin, Investors, Danone, Carlsberg, Financial Times, UBS, Credit Suisse —, Zenit Bank, Reuters, Raiffeisen Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, London, Russian, Moscow

☆ Russia says it will not let foreign banks exit the market easily — unless they unfreeze Russian assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's deputy finance minister said the country will not let foreign banks exit the market easily, per Reuters. Russia's decision to allow the banks to leave will "depend on the decision to unfreeze Russian assets," he said. It is not clear how many of these Russian assets were frozen by Western banks. AdvertisementAdvertisementMoiseev said at the Friday forum that there's one foreign bank applying to sell its assets in Russia, per Reuters. That jumped to nearly $10 billion at the end of March 2023, per the FT.AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia's finance ministry, Kyiv School of Economics, Bank of China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China did not immediately respond to requests from Insider for comment.

Persons: Alexei Moiseev, Vladimir Putin's, it's, —, Moiseev, Raiffeisen Organizations: Reuters, Service, Yale University, Raiffeisen, Kyiv School of Economics, Bank of China, Industrial, Commercial Bank of, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of, Financial Times, Agricultural Bank of China Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Commercial Bank of China, China, Agricultural Bank of China

☆ Russia says it won't let foreign banks leave easily
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev attends a session of the annual international military-technical forum "ARMY" at Patriot Expocentre in Moscow Region, Russia August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said on Friday that the government would not allow foreign banks to leave Russia easily. "We have stated our position and it stands - we will be tough in letting foreign banks go, it will depend on the decision to unfreeze Russian assets," Moiseev said, speaking at a forum. Responding to questions about applications to sell assets, Moiseev said Austria's Raiffeisen Bank (RBIV.VI) had not made such a request. "I am aware of one foreign bank's application to sell assets ... which is under consideration by the government commission," he said.

Persons: Alexei Moiseev, Maxim, Moiseev, Austria's, Elena Fabrichnaya, Felix Light, Bobrova, Hugh Lawson, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Austria's Raiffeisen Bank, Thomson Locations: Moscow Region, Russia, Ukraine, Western, Russian

☆ Russia is evacuating a village that may be hit by falling rocket debris as it prepares for its first moon landing in almost 50 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

On Friday, Russia returns to lunar exploration with its first expected moon landing since 1976. But one village in Russia's Far East, which could be hit by falling rocket debris, is being evacuated. The village falls within the potential impact zone of the launch, making the evacuation necessary, he added. After a hiatus of nearly 50 years, Russia will launch its first lunar landing spacecraft on Friday. Scientists believe the south pole of the moon contains a lot of water ice, which astronauts could potentially mine for rocket fuel.

Persons: Alexei Maslov, Luna, Maslov, Yuri Borisov, Borisov Organizations: Residents, Service, Vostochny, Google, Reuters, Agence, Press, AFP Locations: Russia, Russia's Far, Wall, Silicon, Shakhtinsky, Russia's Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk region's Verkhnebureinskyi, Moscow, Agence France, India

☆ Russia to evacuate village for first lunar lander mission in half century
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/File PhotoAug 7 (Reuters) - Russia will evacuate a village in its far east on Aug. 11 as part of the launch of Russia's first lunar lander mission in nearly half a century, a local official said on Monday. The Luna-25 lunar lander, Russia's first since 1976, will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, some 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, according to Russia's Roscosmos space agency. Luna-25 will launch on a Soyuz-2 Fregat booster and will be the first lander to arrive on the South Pole of the moon, Roscosmos has said. The lander is expected to operate on the lunar surface for one year. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kirill Kudryavtsev, Luna, Russia's, Alexei Maslov, Roscosmos, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russian Soyuz, REUTERS, Vostochny, Thomson Locations: Russian, Lomonosov, cosmodrome, Uglegorsk, Blagoveshchensk, Amur, Russia, Moscow, Russia's Khabarovsk, Verkhnebureinskyi, Khabarovsk, Shakhtinskyi, Melbourne

Russia's gas, in contrast to its oil, is not subject to Western sanctions, although Brussels is considering extending its embargo on Russian fuel. Gazprom's gas exports, mainly to Europe, almost halved last year because of the political crisis over Ukraine and after undersea Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by unexplained blasts last September. Timchenko had long challenged Gazprom's monopoly on Russian gas exports, saying in 2012 that Europeans wanted to have an alternative to Gazprom. "I believe that Gazprom Export's marketing campaign led to its European share decrease ... Liquefied natural gas has already come to the market. In essence, a new, cheaper gas market is emerging; one has to see such things," Timchenko told the Forbes magazine in 2012.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Russia's, Ronald Smith of, Novatek, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Miller, Putin, Miller, Gennady Timchenko, Timchenko, Oksana Kobzeva, Vladimir Soldatkin, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Gazprom, REUTERS, Stream, EU, Kremlin, European Union, Novatek, BCS, Forbes, Thomson Locations: Russia, Europe, MOSCOW, Ukraine, Brussels, Siberia, LNG, Ronald Smith of Moscow, Germany, Italy, Soviet, St Petersburg, Moscow, Russian

☆ Putting the Rich World of Philadelphia’s Public Art Online
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Joshua Needelman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was almost 90 degrees, and huge speakers drowned out Mr. Mansour, a self-described “mumbler” not keen on public speaking. There were people everywhere and Mr. Mansour, too, struggled, his face turning bright red. (“I blacked out,” Mr. Mansour said later of the moment.) Mr. Benner took control: He instructed Mr. Mansour to wave his hands in front of his face to cool himself down. He switched locations, first trying to record Mr. Mansour in an adjacent building (also too loud) before settling on a corner away from the commotion.

Persons: “, Livingston, Alexei Mansour, Mr, Brenner, Mansour, ”, ” Mr, Benner Organizations: Mx, Livingston Locations: Philadelphia

[1/3] A tyre produced by the Finnish group Nokian Tyres on display at a dealership in Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. Nokian Tyres' protracted departure illustrates the growing headwinds faced by Western companies that have yet to fully depart the country. "The war changed the operating environment in a rapid and unpredictable way," Nokian Tyres' Chief Transformation Officer Johanna Horsma told Reuters. Additional valuation requirements published in mid-December came in the middle of Nokian Tyres' transaction, he added. The buyer needs to be well selected to avoid scammers, said Nokian Tyres' Horsma.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Johanna Horsma, Finland's Fortum, Germany's, Peter Wand, Baker McKenzie, Thomas Kormendi, Kormendi, Alexei Moiseev, Moiseev, Nokian, Tatiana Stanovaya, Elopak, Baker McKenzie's Wand, Alexander Marrow, Darya Korsunskaya, Matt Scuffham, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Nokian Tyres, REUTERS, Finland's, U.S . Treasury, Reuters, Companies, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, finalising, Ukraine, Western, Frankfurt

☆ Factbox: Kara-Murza becomes latest Putin opponent to get long jail term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovApril 17 (Reuters) - Sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison on charges including treason, Vladimir Kara-Murza joined a growing list of Russians who have received long jail terms after speaking out against President Vladimir Putin or the invasion of Ukraine. The 25-year term he received was the harshest of its kind since Russia invaded its neighbour last February. ILYA YASHINOpposition politician Yashin was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison in December 2022 on charges of spreading "false information" about the army. ALEXEI GORINOVGorinov, a Moscow district councillor, was jailed for seven years in July 2022 on charges of spreading false information about the armed forces. ALEXEI MOSKALYOVMoskalyov was investigated by police after his daughter Masha, then 12, drew an anti-war picture at school in 2022.

☆ The father of a Russian girl who drew anti-war pictures fled house arrest. The Kremlin tracked him down in Belarus after he turned on his cellphone.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian man was charged for "discrediting" the army after his daughter drew anti-war art at school. Shortly before his sentencing last month, Alexei Moskalyov fled house arrest and disappeared. "Alexei Moskalyov was extradited from Belarus to Russia," his lawyer in Belarus said, according to AP. Shortly after, he was convicted of "discrediting" the Russian military, handed a two-year prison term, and placed on house arrest. But hours before a court was meant to hand down the two-year sentence, Moskalyov unexpectedly fled house arrest and went off the grid.

☆ U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on financial network linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration imposed fresh sanctions aimed at the financial network linked to Russian billionaire and business tycoon Alisher Usmanov. Last year, German authorities seized the world's largest superyacht following official confirmation that the vessel had links to Usmanov. Read more: World’s largest yacht, linked to Russian billionaire Usmanov, is seized by GermanyUsmanov and his superyacht entered the crosshairs of the U.S. and its allies following coordinated global sanctions on Russian elites with Kremlin ties. Last March, French authorities seized a massive yacht they say is linked to Igor Sechin, a Russian billionaire who is CEO of state oil company Rosneft. The Lady M, known to be the property of Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov, was previously seized in Italy.

☆ Ukraine seeks to prevent military leaks after NATO assistance plans reportedly appear on social media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"The participants of the meeting focused on measures to prevent the leakage of information regarding the plans of the defence forces of Ukraine," it said. One document posted on social media said 16,000 to 17,500 Russian forces had been killed since the invasion. The Ukrainian military said it was holding on in the city but the situation was difficult. Ukrainian military expert Vladyslav Selezniov has said Ukraine will have to pull back if the route for getting supplies in and wounded out is threatened. Eastern Military Command spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi told Reuters Ukraine controlled the situation in Bakhmut and understood Russian intentions.

☆ Russian girl who drew anti-war picture leaves orphanage with mother
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova said she had spoken to the girl and to her mother, named Olga. Lvova-Belova posted a picture of the girl and her mother sitting on a bed, looking into each other's eyes. "I am glad about the beginning of the reunion of daughter and mother," Lvova-Belova said. He was accused of discrediting the Russian armed forces in social media posts. While on the run, he was sentenced in absentia to two years in a penal colony for discrediting the armed forces.

☆ Fugitive Russian father convicted of insulting army has been detained - lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Alexei Moskalyov, a Russian man sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting the Russian army, and whose daughter was taken into care, has been detained after fleeing house arrest, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov told Reuters on Thursday. "He has been detained, yes," Zakhvatov said, without providing more details. The Russian-language news outlet SOTA reported earlier that Moskalyov, 54, had been arrested in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, a staunch Russian ally. He was later charged with discrediting Russia's armed forces in connection with separate anti-war comments he was alleged to have made on social media. Later the same day, a court sentenced him in absentia to two years in a penal colony.

Further fuelling the emotions surrounding the case, a letter from 13-year-old Masha to her father - who has been raising her on his own - was made public on Wednesday. Prigozhin asked the prosecutor to review the verdict, and also requested that lawyers associated with Wagner be allowed to work with Moskalyov's defence. Moskalyov's lawyer Vladimir Biliyenko told Reuters he was in favour of both requests, even if he was unsure of Prigozhin's motives. The head of the school called the police, who began examining Moskalyov's online activity and fined him for comments critical of the Russian army. Additional reporting by Caleb Davis, writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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