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☆ A Russian soldier says his regiment lost over 1,000 men in just 10 days of fighting in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian soldier said his regiment lost over 1,000 men in just 10 days of fighting in Donetsk. Verkiev Igor Gennadievich was making a desperate plea for donations in a video shared by Ukraine. AdvertisementA Russian soldier said that more than 1,000 of his comrades were killed during a 10-day period while fighting in Donetsk, according to a video shared by a Ukrainian official on Tuesday. In it, Gennadievich said that his regiment was suffering "heavy losses," according to Gerashchenko's translation, adding that: "I was absent there for 10 days. Russia is also suffering losses as it tries to hold back Ukrainian advances on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.

Persons: Verkiev Igor Gennadievich, —, Anton Gerashchenko, Gennadievich Organizations: intel, Service, UK's Ministry of Defence, MOD, Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Donetsk, Verkiev, Ukraine, Russia, Avdiivka, Saint Petersburg, Ukrainian, Adviivka, Dnipro

☆ Russia's sanctioned Sovcombank requests US licence to make UN climate payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Elena Fabrichnaya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows a board with the logo of Sovcombank at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 17, 2022. "We have funds in foreign currency for these payments, but we have not received any response from them yet, unfortunately." Avtukhov said Sovcombank was in dialogue with the UN on the matter. "We have not suspended our membership in international organisations," Avtukhov, who also sits on Sovcombank's board, said. There are certain difficulties with making payments in general for Russian participants of this programme," Avtukhov said.

Persons: Maxim, Sovcombank, Mikhail Avtukhov, Avtukhov, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, U.S . Treasury, United, Reuters, European Union, Foreign Assets, United Nations Environment, Finance Initiative, U.S, Treasury, UN, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Russian, United Nations, Sovcombank, Ukraine, Washington, Moscow

☆ Russia's 'ghost ships' could be targeted at a sea choke point in a bid to enforce the West's oil price cap
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has been using so-called "ghost ships" to skirt the West's oil price cap. Russia sends millions of barrels of crude oil through a choke point at the Danish straits, per the outlet. AdvertisementRussian oil tankers could face a crackdown at a key choke point, according to the Financial Times. But Denmark could struggle to stop the ghost ships because of constraints on its own navy, according to maritime experts. Blocking commercial traffic in the Danish straits would come close to a declaration of war," Hans Peter Michaelsen, an independent defense analyst, told Reuters.

Persons: —, Hans Peter Michaelsen Organizations: EU, Financial Times, Service, European Union, KSE, Bloomberg, FT, UN, Reuters Locations: Russia, Denmark, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, EU, Danish

Skochilenko, an artist and musician known as Sasha to her friends, has admitted replacing price tags in a supermarket in her native St Petersburg on March 31 2022 with small pieces of paper urging an end to the war and criticising the authorities. But Skochilenko, who has already spent over a year-and-a half in prison, denies the formal charge of knowingly spreading false information about the Russian army. Skochilenko is due to make a final statement on Thursday to a court in St Petersburg which is expected to deliver a verdict on the same day. Amnesty International has declared Skochilenko "a prisoner of conscience" - someone who is imprisoned solely because of who they are or what they believe. Reporting by Reuters Writing by Andrew Osborn Editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alexandra, Sasha, Skochilenko, Said, Alexandra Skochilenko, Russia's, Moscow, Vladimir Putin, Yana Nepovinnova, Andrew Osborn, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian, St Petersburg

☆ Russia relishes divisions between China and the U.S., pouring cold water on Xi-Biden talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his press conference at the Konstantin Palace on July 29, 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Russian media have already reveled in pouring cold water on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit where Xi and Biden are due to meet Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited due to U.S. sanctions so Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk is representing Russia at the summit. A range of Russian newspapers including Kommersant, Izvestia, Argumenty i Fakty, Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda did not feature any news on the APEC summit or Xi-Biden talks. China's President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden at the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian island of Bali on Nov. 14, 2022.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Konstantin, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Xi, Biden, Katherine Tai, Tai, David Paul Morris, Xi's, Alexei Overchuk, Dmitry Peskov, Kamala Harris, Kent Nishimura, Komsomolskaya, Putin, — Xi, Sergei Guneyev, Ian Bremmer, Saul Loeb Organizations: Getty, U.S, Economic Cooperation, Novosti, APEC, U.S . Trade, Russian Federation, San Francisco International Airport, American, Bloomberg, Getty Images Bloomberg, Israel, Kremlin, SAN FRANCISCO, Merchant Exchange Club, Tass, Kommersant, Izvestia, Gazeta, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Sputnik, AFP, West, Analysts, Eurasia Group, China's, Afp Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian, San Francisco, China, Beijing, Washington, Moscow, Asia, United States, San Francisco , California, Ukraine, Pacific, U.S, CALIFORNIA, Taiwan, Nusa Dua, Indonesian, Bali

Authorities have detained nearly 20,000 people for anti-war activity and opened over 800 criminal cases against anti-war dissidents, according to the OVD-Info rights group. Skochilenko replaced price tags in a supermarket in her native St Petersburg on March 31 2022 with five small pieces of paper urging an end to the war. "Even you, your honour (the judge), even you, the state prosecutor, you also don’t want people to die prematurely, for young soldiers to lie in the fields, for civilians to die." Copies of the imitation price tags produced by Skochilenko are on display on a website maintained by her supporters. Another alleges Russia was sending conscripts to fight in Ukraine, which Russia has also denied.

Persons: Alexandra, Sasha, Skochilenko, Alexandra Skochilenko, Moscow's, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Gladyshev, Putin, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Authorities, Moscow, Wednesday, Amnesty, NATO, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian, St Petersburg, Mariupol, Moscow

☆ Private jets of Russian oligarchs keep flying but not to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Gleb Stolyarov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A view shows the Boeing 737-700 BBJ (plane number RA-73890) private aircraft on the tarmac of the Pulkovo International Airport in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 14, 2023. The Boeing linked to Yevtushenkov was among at least 50 private jets re-registered under the Russian flag since the February 2022 invasion, according to previously unreported national aircraft registry data up to early August reviewed by Reuters. Several of the repatriated private jets were associated with prominent politicians and business figures, according to two senior Russian aviation industry sources, who were not authorised to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. Because of sanctions, Russian planes are prohibited from entering the 27-country European Union, where Russia's oligarchs previously flew frequently for business and leisure and where many private jets linked to them were registered before the war, tail numbers show. VEB, Uralkali and Mazepin did not respond to requests for comment on the registration of the jets in Russia.

Persons: Luba, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Yevtushenkov, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Mazepin, Putin, Igor Shuvalov, Mazepin, Gleb Stolyarov, Mike Collett, White, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Boeing, Pulkovo, REUTERS, Soviet, Reuters, Sistema, Ministry, Transport, JETS, Russian, Union, Bombardier Challenger, Uralkali, Bombardier, VEB.RF, VEB, EU, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Riviera, Belarus, oligarch, Ukraine, Turkey, Dubai, China, Russian, Maldives, Seychelles, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Yevtushenkov, United Kingdom, Aruba, of, Uralkali, UAE, Prague, Bishkek, States, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Latvia, Britain, Oman, Soviet

☆ Sberbank CEO expects 'serious cooling' in Russian mortgage market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Elena Fabrichnaya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Russia's biggest bank Sberbank (SBER.MM) expects a sharp cooling of the mortgage market following an expected 80% rise in mortgage lending this year, CEO German Gref said on Wednesday. Gref said the bank's mortgage issuance for the whole of 2023 was expected to reach 4.6 trillion roubles ($50.1 billion). VTB, Russia's number two bank, expects mortgage loans across the entire sector to total 7.2 trillion roubles this year, falling to between 5 and 5.5 trillion roubles in 2024. Vyacheslav Dusaleyev, head of retail business at Rosbank, gave corresponding forecasts of 7.3 trillion roubles this year and 5 trillion next year. Mortgage demand has remained buoyant in part because of the wide range of preferential offers available, according to the central bank.

Persons: Maxim, Gref, Sberbank, Vyacheslav Dusaleyev, Olga Polyakova, Elena Fabrichnaya, Mark Trevelyan, Christina Fincher Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, Rights, Mortgage, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, Rosbank

Two other Baltic telecoms cables were damaged on the same night of Oct. 7 along the route that the ship was travelling, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters. NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, has previously declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. TRAIL OF DAMAGEIn total, three Baltic telecoms cables and one pipeline were damaged in the space of less than nine hours. Data from shipping intelligence firm MarineTraffic, reviewed by Reuters, showed that the NewNew Polar Bear passed over a Swedish-Estonian telecoms cable at 1513 GMT, then over the Russian cable at around 2020 GMT, the Balticconnector at 2220 GMT and a Finland-Estonia telecoms line at 2349 GMT. Finnish police announced on Oct. 24 that they had found a ship's anchor near the broken gas pipeline.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Rostelecom, Vladimir Putin, Gasgrid, Mark Trevelyan, Nerijus Adomaitis, Anne Kauranen, Terje Solsvik, Bill Berkrot, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Rostelecom, St ., Economic, REUTERS, Reuters, NewNew Shipping, Kremlin, Communications Ministry, St, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Baltic, Beijing, Ukraine, China, Swedish, Estonian, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, London

☆ Putin looks set to run for president in 2024 — and there's no one who can oppose him right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 9: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during the concert marking the City Day on September 9, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images) Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly decided to run in the March 2024 presidential election and he's likely to win another six-year term in office, essentially because there's no one that can oppose him. Analysts say that the bitter truth in modern Russia is that there is no one who can oppose Putin, for now. In this pool image distributed by Sputnik agency, Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with the regional head of Inigushetia in Moscow's Kremlin, on August 15, 2023. MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 9: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during the concert marking the City Day on September 9, 2023 in Moscow, Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sobyanin, he's, —, Vladimir Milov, Alexander Kazakov, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Alexei Navalny, Yulia Morozova, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Sergei Medvedev, Mikhail Svetlov, Medvedev, deigning, Prigozhin's Wagner, Wagner, Kirill Shamiev, Milov Organizations: Moscow's, Getty, Kremlin, Reuters, CNBC, Sputnik, AFP, Kremlin's, Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Russia, IK, Wagner Group, Analysts, Saint Petersburg, Economic, Prigozhin's Wagner Group, Anadolu Agency, European Council, Foreign Relations, Putin Locations: MOSCOW, RUSSIA, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Moscow's Kremlin, Ukraine, Vladimir, Iran, North Korea, SAINT PETERSBURG, Concord, Saint Petersburg, Belarus, Prigozhin, Russia's, Tver

☆ Russians struggle to keep alive memory of Stalin's victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

She was expelled to Uglich (about 740km from St Petersburg). "He was shot in Moscow, but as we all live in St. Petersburg, we have made this memorial plaque here. Yet for many Russians, Stalin's name still evokes the savage repression that culminated in the Great Terror of 1936-1938. The Big House is the nickname of the St Petersburg headquarters of Stalin's NKVD secret police, which later became that of the Soviet KGB and now the Russian FSB. It was to help people like Gerchikova that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial International was founded as the Soviet Union collapsed - to document Soviet political repression and help to rehabilitate its victims.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Joseph Stalin's, Natalia Anafonova, Stalin, Vladimir Putin, Zinaida Gerchikova, I've, Gerchikova, Sergei Gorshvo, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PETERSBURG, Big, St, Soviet KGB, Thomson Locations: Levashovo, Saint Petersburg, Russia, dribs, Soviet, Petersburg's, St Petersburg, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Russian, Soviet Union, Nazi, Ukraine, Sverdlovsk region

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 26, 2023. The border between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip is the site of the only crossing from the Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel. Sisi said the Egyptian people would "go out and protest in their millions... if called upon to do so" against any displacement of Gaza's residents to Sinai. Egypt is wary of insecurity near its border with Gaza in northeastern Sinai, where it faced an Islamist insurgency that escalated a decade ago. Any transfer of Palestinians to Sinai would mean "that we move the idea of resistance, of combat, from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, and so Sinai would become the base for launching operations against Israel", Sisi said.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Danichev, Olaf Scholz, Osama Hamdan, Jordan, John Kirby, Joe Biden, Biden, Israel, Nayera Abdallah, Nadine Awadalla, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Aidan Lewis, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Sputnik, Rights, West Bank, United, Volunteers, Islamic Jihad, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Rights CAIRO, Sinai, Gaza, Cairo, Israel, Egypt, Beirut, Rafah, United States

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 26, 2023. "Egypt rejects any attempt to resolve the Palestinian issue by military means or through the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land, which would come at the expense of the countries of the region," he said. Sisi said the Egyptian people would "go out and protest in their millions ... if called upon to do so" against any displacement of Gaza's residents to Sinai. Egypt is wary of insecurity near its border with Gaza in northeastern Sinai, where an Islamist insurgency intensified a decade ago. Any transfer of Palestinians to Sinai would mean "that we move the idea of resistance, of combat, from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, and so Sinai would become the base for launching operations against Israel", Sisi said.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Danichev, Olaf Scholz, Osama Hamdan, Jordan, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Israel, John Kirby, Biden, Nayera Abdallah, Nadine Awadalla, Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Sherif Fahmy, Mohamed Abdel, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Aidan Lewis, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher, Alistair Bell, Grant McCool Organizations: Sputnik, Rights, West Bank, U.S, Israeli, United, Volunteers, Cairo University, State, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Rights CAIRO, Sinai, Gaza, Cairo, Israel, Egypt, Beirut, Rafah, United States, Dubai, Ghany

It reflects deep-rooted Arab fears that Israel's latest war with Hamas in Gaza could spark a new wave of permanent displacement from land where Palestinians want to build a future state. Some 700,000 Palestinians, half the Arab population of what was British-ruled Palestine, fled or were driven from their homes, many spilling into neighbouring Arab states where they or many of their descendants remain. Israel contests the assertion it drove Palestinians out, pointing out it was attacked by five Arab states the day after its creation. Palestinians and Arab states say a deal should include the right of those refugees and their descendants to return, something Israel has always rejected. After an emergency Arab League meeting on Wednesday, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said all Arab states agreed to confront any attempt to displace Palestinians from their homeland.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Danichev, Jordan, Israel, Gazans, Jordan's King Abdullah, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, Gilad Erdan, Erdan, U.N, Khan Younis, Mariam al, Ayman Safadi, Maya Gebeily, Suleiman Al, Aidan Lewis, Tom Perry, Aiden Nulty, Michelle Nichols Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Hamas, West Bank, Israel, Arab League, United, United Nations, Muslim, Royal United Services Institute, Jordan's, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Egypt, AMMAN, BEIRUT, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Jordan, British, Palestine, Gaza City, United States, Farra, Sinai, Israeli, Rafah, Cairo, Khalidi, Amman

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks before a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 29, 2023. The army said it would soon go on the offensive after the biggest mobilisation in Israeli history. The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital - all territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war. The Quartet, set up in 2002, consists of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. He said Russia was in contact with the Palestinians to find out if any Russians had been injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Bobylyov, Lavrov, Sergei Lavrov, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Israel, Aboul Gheit, Hosni Mubarak’s, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Agency, REUTERS, Kremlin, League, Quartet, Arab League, West Bank, United Nations, European Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, MOSCOW, Israel, Palestinian Territories, United States, Gaza, East, Iran, Palestinian, East Jerusalem

Wagner communications channels were silent, but some supporters and patriotic bloggers expressed disbelief. 'LAUGHABLE' EXPLANATIONWestern diplomats say Putin ordered the killing of Prigozhin after the humiliation of the mutiny. "Two heroes of great Russia died in this plane crash, just in case someone forgot, and not druggies," said the Southern Front Telegram channel. And that is why Prigozhin himself did not just die, but became a 'downed pilot'," Pastukhov wrote on Telegram. (But) he needs society to understand the hint unambiguously: this is how everyone (who betrays us) will be dealt with."

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Vaganov, Putin, Vladimir Putin's intimation, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, CHVK, Vladimir Pastukhov, Pastukhov, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Embraer, Federal Security Service, Wagner, KGB, Southern Front Telegram, Zone, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Said, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow

☆ 'Loyalty alone is not enough': Kremlin reveals the qualities Russia's Vladimir Putin values the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a video link in Saint Petersburg on October 10, 2022. "But for Vladimir Putin, loyalty alone is not enough. Russia's president Vladimir Putin (R) and his spokesman Dmitry Peskov (L) attend the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting at the Congress Hall in Bishkek on December 9, 2022. Contributor | Getty ImagesDuring Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine, as it calls its invasion, questions have been raised about the strategy and competency of Russia's military leadership. FILE - Businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, left, shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, around his factory which produces school meals, outside St. Petersburg, Russia on Monday, Sept. 20, 2010.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Gavriil Grigorov, Putin, Andrei Kondrashov, it's, Dmitry Peskov, Vyacheslav Oseledko, —, Sergey Lavrov, Sergei Shoigu, Sergei Lavrov, Nikolay Patrushev, Mikhail Mishustin, Sergei Sobyanin, There's, Vladimir Solovyov, Nikolai Patrushev, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Sergei Medvedev, Dmitry, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Alexander Ermochenko, Sergey Shoigu, Shoigu, Prigozhin, Wagner, Kirill Shamiev, Prigozhin Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexei Druzhinin Organizations: Afp, Getty, CNBC, Economic, Kremlin, Security, Moscow, SVR, Russian Security Council, Ukraine, West ., Kyiv, Russian, Luhansk People's, Reuters, Wagner Group, European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Saint Petersburg, Bishkek, Russian, Yerevan, Armenia, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic, Crimea, Moscow, Belarus, Prigozhin, St . Petersburg

[1/5] A woman mourns next to a makeshift memorial for Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, as people mark 40 days since his death to respect an Orthodox tradition, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 1, 2023. It is still unclear what caused the plane to crash two months to the day since Prigozhin's failed mutiny. The Kremlin said on Aug. 30 that investigators were considering the possibility that the plane was downed on purpose. At memorials in Moscow and other Russian cities dozens of Wagner fighters and ordinary Russians paid their respects, though there was no mass outpouring of grief. Putin was on Friday shown meeting one of the most senior former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group and discussing how best to use "volunteer units" in the Ukraine war.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Vaganov, Prigozhin, Prigozhin's, Violetta, Pavel, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Mikhail, Marta, Dmitry Utkin, Hope, Anton Yelizarov, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, State, Embraer, KGB, Reuters, United States, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow, Ukraine, Rostov, Mali

☆ Uganda leader says air strike killed fighters of IS-allied rebel group in Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni attends a session of the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 28, 2023. The strike was carried out in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo on Sept.16 and intelligence gathered after the strike had confirmed members of group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), had been killed, he said. In December 2021 Uganda launched an operation in eastern Congo against ADF but the group still carries out attacks both against civilians and military targets in Congo and Uganda. In June this year 42 people, mostly students, were massacred at a school in Kasese in western Uganda -- another attack Uganda blamed on ADF. The rebel group is widely believed to seek to establish an Islamic rule in the east African country.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Mikhail Tereshchenko, Nkalubo, Museveni, Elias Biryabarema, Clelia Organizations: Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Islamic, Allied Democratic Forces, ADF, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Rights KAMPALA, Islamic State, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kampala, Uganda, Congo, Kasese, Uganda's

☆ Russia's VTB to make record profit in 2023 but dividends unlikely, CEO tells RBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of VTB bank is seen at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 15, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Russia's state-owned VTB bank (VTBR.MM) will make a record profit this year, even though dividends are unlikely, the lender's CEO Andrei Kostin told Russian newspaper RBC in an interview published on Monday. RBC quoted Kostin as saying: "Our profit forecasts this year are good, the year is going well. Our target for net profit is 400 billion roubles ($4.13 billion), but I think we will eventually exceed this level and earn record profits." On the urgent recommendation of the central bank, we have suspended ... dividends," the newspaper quotes Kostin as saying.

Persons: Maxim, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, VTB, Elena Fabrichnaya, Felix Light, Christina Fincher Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, Rights, Russian, RBC, United Shipbuilding Corporation, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, India

☆ Kremlin decries US plan to give seized Russian money to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks before a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 29, 2023. Sergei Bobylyov/TASS Host Photo Agency via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to send Ukraine funds seized from Russian businesspeople targeted by sanctions is illegal and any such actions will be contested, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. Peskov told reporters: "This is hard to imagine and it goes against everything in international law and those countries' national law. Peskov said some Russian entrepreneurs had already secured court rulings in European countries finding such transfers illegal. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Bobylyov, Antony Blinken, Peskov, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Washington, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, U.S, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Goldman Sachs lawyer says suit by Russia's Otkritie Bank should be heard in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Russian bank Otkritie is seen at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 15, 2022. Otkritie says Goldman owes the money in connection with a derivatives agreement and wants the claim to be handled in the Moscow Arbitration Court. Otkritie, owned by state bank VTB (VTBR.MM), says in a filing with the court that Goldman Sachs cited sanctions introduced against Moscow by the United States and Britain over Ukraine in failing to settle the debt. A lawyer for Goldman asked on Thursday for the lawsuit to be dismissed on the grounds the Moscow court had no jurisdiction. Otkritie's lawyer said the Moscow court should have sole jurisdiction and that sanctions essentially prevented Otkritie from accessing justice services in the UK.

Persons: Maxim, Goldman Sachs, Otkritie, Goldman, Detsky Mir, Elena Fabrichnaya, Mark Trevelyan, David Evans Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, Russia's, Court, Moscow, Reuters, London Court, International, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, London, United States, Britain, Ukraine

☆ Russia to recruit foreigners in neighboring countries to beef up its army depleted by 300,000 war casualties, says the UK Defense Ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is outsourcing military recruitment to "avoid unpopular domestic mobilization measures," says UK MoD. The Kremlin wants to fill the growing gaps in army ranks foreigners and migrant workers. Russia's military casualties are approaching 300,000, say US officials. The campaign to exploit migrant workers and enlist men from neighboring countries precedes Russia's upcoming presidential election in 2024. Russia's military casualties are approaching 300,000, of which as many as 120,000 are deaths and up to 180,000 are injuries, US officials said last month.

Persons: OLGA MALTSEVA Organizations: MoD, Kremlin, Service, UK Ministry of Defence, Ministry, Getty Images, Ukraine, Central Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Saint Petersburg, AFP, Kazakhstani

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia comes under further drone attacks; Turkey could persuade Moscow to revive grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A woman crosses herself as she visits the grave of Wagner private mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a private jet crash in the Tver region last week, at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg on August 30, 2023. Followers of mutinous Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin laid flowers, messages and poetry at his grave on Wednesday, hailing him as a fearless warrior after he was killed along with his inner circle in a yet-to-be-explained plane crash. One tribute beside flowers read: "To be a warrior is to live forever." The private jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow with the loss of all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including Prigozhin, top Wagner commanders, his bodyguards and a crew of three. The Kremlin has rejected as an "absolute lie" the suggestion by some Western politicians and commentators - for which they have not provided evidence - that Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed in revenge.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Viktorovich, Putin, — Organizations: St, Reuters Locations: Tver, Saint Petersburg, St Petersburg, Moscow

☆ Burkina Faso says leader discussed possible military cooperation with Russian delegation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Burkina Faso's interim President Ibrahim Traore during a meeting following the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 29, 2023. Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via REUTERS /File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOUAGADOUGOU, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A Russian delegation held talks with Burkina Faso's interim president Ibrahim Traore on Thursday at a meeting that included discussions on possible military cooperation, the Burkinabe presidency said in a statement. It said the visit, led by Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, was a follow-up to talks between Traore and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July. It did not say if Russian military trainers would be sent to Burkina Faso. Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga Writing by Alessandra Prentice Editing by Leslie Adler and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Burkina Faso's, Ibrahim Traore, Alexei Danichev, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Traore, Russian Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Thiam, Alessandra Prentice, Leslie Adler, Grant McCool Organizations: Sputnik, Rights, Russian, Russian Deputy, Wagner Group, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Rights OUAGADOUGOU, St . Petersburg, African, Moscow, Mali, Russian, Burkina Faso

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