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☆ Former Tinkoff execs raise $16 mln for fintech start-up
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Three former executives at Russian online bank Tinkoff have raised $16 million to launch a fintech start-up focused on Southeast Asia and initially targeting the Philippines, they said in a statement on Monday. The trio leading the venture all left Tinkoff in the second quarter, soon after Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered Western sanctions against Russia and after an announcement that Tinkoff's London-listed owner TCS Group Holding (TCSq.L) was planning to expand in Asia. Among the men leading the fintech start-up is George Chesakov, who was a co-founder of Tinkoff and had announced a week before the Ukraine invasion that TCS would team up with Swiss payment specialist BPC in the Philippines as part of a $200 million expansion into Asia. The other two men leading the rival venture are Pavel Fedorov, joint Tinkoff CEO in 2021-22, and Raffy Montemayor, a Filipino who will head the new business in the Philippines. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by Kevin Liffey Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a "dirty bomb", or conventional explosives laced with radioactive material. Ukraine does not possess nuclear weapons, while Russia has said it could protect its territory with its nuclear arsenal. 1/3 A local man throws debris out of a broken window in a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine October 23, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Russian attacks on energy infrastructure had struck on a "very wide" scale. Moscow has acknowledged targeting energy infrastructure but denies targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine's ex-cenbank chief declared wanted man in embezzlement case
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine's national anti-corruption agency declared former central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko a wanted man on Monday along with two employees of the Ukrgazbank lender, on suspicion of embezzling more than 200 million hryvnia ($5.42 million). Shevchenko abruptly resigned on Oct. 4 citing health problems, but later saying he had faced political pressure after an old embezzlement case against him was reawakened immediately after his departure. He has denied any wrongdoing. Shevchenko assumed the post in July 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, promising to maintain the bank's independence and to cooperate with the International Monetary Fund. ($1 = 36.9300 hryvnias)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NHL roundup: Kraken stun champion Avalanche
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 21, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Seattle Kraken left wing Jared McCann (19) celebrates his goal in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer turned away 17 of 19 shots against his former team before being replaced by Martin Jones midway through the third period. Burakovsky was a member of the Stanley Cup championship team last season and scored an overtime goal to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the finals. Nikita Kucherov added two primary assists for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 35 saves for the win. Dominik Kubalik registered a goal and an assist and Pius Suter and Dylan Larkin also scored for the Red Wings.

“We will take the necessary measures to improve the security of civilian facilities and critical facilities,” Sobyanin wrote on Telegram Wednesday. Beyond the four Ukrainian regions now subject to martial law proper, six Russian regions bordering Ukraine are now subject to a “medium response level,” as well as Russian-controlled Crimea. This is essentially “soft” martial law, and it allows regional governors to control movement on their territories and evacuate residents if needed. This has been prompted by Ukrainian strikes on buildings and infrastructure on internationally recognized Russian territory, such as in Belgorod. The rest of the country is subject to a “baseline” readiness level that allows greater security presence and restrictions.

☆ The Russian army has given newly drafted soldiers 'absolutely no equipment,' forcing families to buy armor and clothing so conscripts have a 'chance to come back'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin enacted a partial military mobilization in September. "Soon they'll make us buy our own grenades," a draftee said in a recorded call, per The Guardian. The army has nothing, we had to buy all our gear ourselves," complained a 23-year-old draftee named Vladimir, according to The Guardian. According to the Guardian, citing BBC News Russian, there have been more than 12,000 opened cases involving stolen military gear or equipment within the last eight years. Pavel Luzin, an independent Russian military expert, told The Guardian that "Russia was just not prepared for mobilization of this scale.

☆ Weather forecasters predict relatively mild winter in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Weather forecasters in Ukraine on Thursday predicted a milder winter than usual, offering a glimmer of hope to Ukrainians facing power outages following Russian attacks on energy facilities. Winters can be long and hard in Ukraine, but the state-run weather forecasting centre suggested temperatures may be slightly higher than average this winter. "Mostly probable short-term significant cooling lasting 1-5 days, when the minimum temperature at night will be minus 15-20 Celsius degrees," it said. The chief executive of Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz said that Ukraine had a significant volume of gas in storage but would need additional imports because of problems in the electricity sector. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukrainians face first nationwide electricity outages after Russian strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Ukrainians faced their first large-scale nationwide disruptions to electricity on Thursday as officials sought to restrict supply to allow energy companies to repair power facilities that have been pounded by Russian air strikes. The president's office told Ukrainians late on Wednesday that they should minimise their use of electricity from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and prepare for temporary blackouts if this was not done. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterDTEK, a major electricity supplier in Kyiv, told consumers it would do its best to make sure outages did not last longer than four hours. He said late on Wednesday that three more energy facilities had been hit by attacks that day. "Please limit your electricity consumption and use those appliances that consume a lot of energy," he told Ukrainians in his nightly speech to the nation.

☆ Factbox: Russian martial law in parts of Ukraine - what will it mean?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday declared martial law in four partially occupied regions of Ukraine that Russia claims as its own. Although Russia has unilaterally annexed and does not fully control any of the four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - it is imposing martial law there as if they were Russian territories. However, a partial mobilisation has already taken place in Russia and been extended to the occupied regions, so it is unclear if more men will be called up. The decree says that under martial law, authorities will have the power to enact measures to "meet the needs of Russia's armed forces", and that "territorial defence" will be carried out. Saldo announced on Wednesday that 50,000-60,000 people would be evacuated from part of the Kherson region over the next six days as a Ukrainian counteroffensive gathers pace.

☆ Russian attack hits major power plant in west Ukraine - governor
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A Russian missile strike hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine on Wednesday, the region's governor said, the latest in a wave of attacks on critical infrastructure ahead of winter. The Burshtyn thermal power station was hit, which caused a fire," Svitlana Onyshchuk, Ivano-Frankivsk's governor, said in a video statement online. The same facility was hit by four missiles on Oct. 10, the governor said. Serhiy Borzov, governor of the Vinnytsia region in western Ukraine, said Russia had also carried out attacks on energy facilities in his region on Wednesday. Three people were injured in drone attacks in the northeast region of Chernyhiv, a senior official from the president's office said.

☆ 'Reality can hurt', Ukrainian official tells Russia over Kherson
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian presidential adviser told Russia on Wednesday that "reality can hurt" after a Russian-appointed official said the Ukrainian army was poised to try to retake the occupied city of Kherson and urged residents to evacuate. Kherson is the biggest population centre seized by Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine and is on territory which President Vladimir Putin says is now formally incorporated into Russia, a move Ukraine and the West do not recognise. "Less than a month has passed since the pompous announcement of Kherson annexation and solemn concert on the Red Square, as the self-proclaimed "city administration"...ceremoniously evacuates in anticipation of Ukrainian justice. Reality can hurt if you live in a fictional fantasy world," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine discusses energy security after Russian air strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed security at power supply facilities with senior officials on Wednesday following Russian air attacks on his country's energy infrastructure. He gave few details of the "strategic meeting" but said that he and unnamed officials discussed measures to "eliminate the consequences in the event of a breakdown of the energy system of Ukraine". "We are working to create mobile power points for the critical infrastructure of cities, towns and villages," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "We are preparing for various scenarios of possible consequences. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReportign by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia arranging a 'propaganda show' in Kherson - senior Ukrainian official
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A senior Ukrainian official accused Russia of organising a "propaganda show" in occupied Kherson after Russian-installed officials said they were preparing to defend the city from imminent Ukrainian attack and urged civilians to flee. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, also accused Russia of trying to scare Kherson residents with what he described as fake newsletters about Ukrainian shelling of the city in southern Ukraine. "The Russians are trying to scare the people of Kherson with fake newsletters about the shelling of the city by our army, and also arrange a propaganda show with evacuation," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Propaganda will not work." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shares of this bioenergy play could rally more than 50%, Raymond James says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wood pellet producer Enviva' s environmental attributes are being misunderstood – and that's unfairly harming its share value, Raymond James said. The company makes wood pellets that can be burned for energy instead of coal. That has made the entry point even more attractive as it stands to gain value with the value of wood pellets becoming increasingly understood. He also clarified wood pellets are cleaner-burning than coal, thus making their use better for air quality compared to coal. Molchanov pointed to wood pellets' role in Europe's clean energy transition, while calling Enviva "the world's largest player in this space."

☆ Explainer: 'Kamikaze drones': what are the weapons Russia is using in Ukraine?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russia launched dozens of "kamikaze" drones on Ukraine on Monday, hitting energy infrastructure and killing five people in the capital of Kyiv. Ukraine says they are Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones - loitering munitions that cruise towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact. On the radar, it is one mark, and in that mark there are actually five (drones)," Ihnat said. Ukraine shot down 51 Shahed-136 drones on Oct. 17-18, Ihnat said on Tuesday. A day earlier he put the tally of downed drones at 100 since Russia began using them.

Firefighters help a local woman evacuate from a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone strike, which local authorities consider to be Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Shahed-136, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 17, 2022. 'SUICIDE DRONES'Ukraine said the attacks were carried out by Iran-made "suicide drones", which fly to their target and detonate. The White House accused Iran of lying when it says Iranian drones were not being used by Russia in Ukraine. Ukraine's military said it had destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, or around 85% of those used in attacks. Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov.

☆ Intense fighting flares in Ukraine's Donetsk region
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoKYIV, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces was taking place around two towns in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Bakhmut and Soledar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. Fighting has been particularly intense this weekend in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which make up the larger industrial Donbas, and the strategically important Kherson province in the south. Russian forces shelled Ukrainian positions on several fronts on Sunday, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said, with the targets including towns in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions. Shelling by Ukrainian forces damaged the administration building in the city Donetsk, capital of the Donetsk region, the head of its Russian-backed administration said on Sunday. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine to the attack on Donetsk city, which was annexed by Russian-backed separatists in 2014 along with swathes of the Donbas.

☆ Ukraine presidential office: Kyiv hit by kamikaze drones
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The capital of Kyiv was hit on Monday by kamikaze drones, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's staff, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Russians think it will help them," Yermak said. Reuters was not able to independently verify the claims. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting in Kyiv by Pavel Polityuk; Writing in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine shot down 85-86% of Russian drones involved in latest attacks - air force
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine has destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, around 85-86% of the number involved in attacks, Ukraine's air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said on Monday. "That's quite a good result for the work of our air defences and that number will rise in the future," he told a news briefing, adding that all the drones had flown into Ukraine from the south. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian drones hit sunflower oil terminal in Ukraine's Mykolaiv - officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sunflower oil storage tanks burn after Russian suicide drone strikes, which Ukrainian authorities consider to be Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Shahed-136, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERSKYIV, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Russian kamikaze drones hit tanks with sunflower oil at one of the terminals in the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv late on Sunday, the city mayor said on Monday. read more"In Mykolaiv, three drones hit an object of industrial infrastructure, where tanks with sunflower oil were ignited," Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Senkevich. read more read moreUkraine is conducting a counter-offensive to try to push Russian troops out of the city of Kherson to the southeast. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pavel Polityuk Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin's nuclear threats are pushing people like Trump and Elon Musk to press for a Ukraine peace deal. A nuclear expert warns that's 'dangerous.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Growing fear of nuclear war has prompted calls for an immediate settlement to end the war in Ukraine. But abandoning support for Ukraine now could spur Russia and others to make more nuclear threats. "Just giving in at this point would actually be dangerous," nuclear expert Pavel Podvig told Insider. In discussions with Insider, Podvig said that Russia could decide to use nuclear weapons if its hold over Crimea were threatened. Instead of capitulation, dressed up in a universal desire for peace, he argued, "You could in effect show – demonstrate in practice — that nuclear weapons are not a useful instrument of terror and compellence."

☆ Putin's nuclear threats are stirring fears of a nightmare scenario. Here's what's in his arsenal and what could happen if he orders the unthinkable.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The use of a nuclear weapon is "directly tied to Russia's fate on the battlefield," one expert recently told Insider. Putin, who claimed to have placed Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert just days later, has continued to remind the world of Russia's nuclear might in the months since. There are tactical nuclear weapons that are more than four times as powerful. At best, a single tactical nuclear weapon could destroy about a dozen tanks, Podvig said. Kristensen said during the ACA webinar on Tuesday that he believes it's unlikely that Russia employs nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Lukashenko has ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukraine border, and his defence ministry says "combat readiness" drills are under way. On Tuesday, the interior ministry held exercises to eliminate "sabotage groups" near Yelsk, only 20 km (12 miles) from the border with Ukraine. "It's not exactly a combat-tested armed force," said Samir Puri, author of "Russia's Road to War with Ukraine". It's unclear who would provide such a force, as Moscow would veto any U.N. role and NATO or EU observers could be drawn into clashes with Russian forces. Not all the evidence suggests the Belarus military is on the verge on joining the fight.

☆ $17.5 billion tech juggernaut Miro quietly snapped up video-chat startup Around in the ongoing battle to catch Zoom
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ben Bergman | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It was acquired by Miro in June but both parties kept quiet until contacted by Insider. Terms were not disclosed though one source put the value of the deal as high as $300 million. Miro, a visual collaboration company last valued at $17.5 billion, has quietly acquired Around, a next-generation video conferencing app. "A Zoom video call is basically a telephone connected to a video camera," Zane said. "We want to get the community to give us feedback in terms of the problems that we are solving."

☆ Ukraine's central bank operating despite Russian strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine's banking system was operating on Monday despite Russian missile strikes across the country, the central bank said. "The National Bank is in constant contact with banks and taking all necessary measures for their normal operation," the National Bank of Ukraine said on its website. It said the bank's electronic payment system was operating as usual and retailers were accepting non-cash payments without interruption. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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