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Their messages show they knew the money paid for telecommunications equipment – despite European Union sanctions which restrict the supply of such gear to Russia's military. An EU regulation from Feb. 25, 2022 bans supplying or financing the purchase of certain goods for the Russian military. The office did not reply to a question about Schlund and Kolbasnikova helping buy gear for the Russian military. PROTEST ORGANISERSSchlund, who studied in a Russian military academy, moved to Germany in 2012. He later began a relationship with Kolbasnikova, who is originally from Ukraine and has worked in Germany as a nurse.

☆ 'Fast-track' talks are underway between Ukraine and Western allies for missiles and planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in "fast-track" talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday. Orban has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and sought to block EU funds earmarked for military aid. Amid news of the coordinated effort, Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, exploding drones and artillery shells. The attacks continued Saturday when Russian missiles struck the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province. In a separate Telegram post earlier Saturday, Kyrylenko reported that Russian attacks in the province killed four civilians in all and wounded seven others in 24 hours.

☆ It's great timing for the US's first immigration boost in years — but experts say Biden needs to reverse more Trump-era policies for the economy to feel the maximum effect
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

While net international migration in 2022 wasn't as high as in 2016 — the high point for immigration between 2010 to 2022 — it's still the highest since 2017. Additionally, the authors note that 2022 is the "first time net international migration increased since 2016." The US would have had about two million more immigrants if not for those policies, Insider estimated based on the average growth rate from 2011 to 2016 for net international migration. According to Peri, "the number of immigrants who can come in legally is constrained" by laws and procedures that haven't really changed. Since entering office, President Joe Biden has reversed a number of Trump's restrictive immigration policies, although a number of them are still in place.

☆ Exclusive: Inside the extramarital affair and cash-fueled double life of Charles McGonigal, the FBI spy-hunter indicted for allegedly taking Russian money
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

She had dated federal law enforcement officials before. "Charlie McGonigal knew everybody in the national security and law enforcement world," Guerriero said, in an exclusive interview with Insider. One law enforcement source estimated that McGonigal stood to make roughly $300,000 to $350,000 a year, including annual bonuses. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom she knew from law enforcement circles, let her stay in a guest bedroom. During her relationship with McGonigal, Guerriero says, they never talked about politics.

☆ Ukraine to summon Hungarian envoy over 'unacceptable' remarks by Orban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 27 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian foreign ministry will summon Hungary's ambassador to complain about "completely unacceptable" remarks Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made about Ukraine, Kyiv said on Friday. Hungary has repeatedly criticised European Union sanctions on Russia, saying they failed to weaken Moscow meaningfully, while they risk destroying the European economy. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, writing on Facebook, said Orban had told reporters that Ukraine was a no man's land and compared it to Afghanistan. "The Hungarian ambassador will be summoned to the Ukrainian foreign ministry for a frank discussion. Orban earlier said on Friday that Hungary would veto any EU sanctions against Russia affecting nuclear energy.

☆ Ukrainian agent accused of spying for Putin was found with stacks of foreign cash and Russian SIM cards, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A lieutenant colonel in Ukraine's intelligence service was charged with being a Russian spy. Security services said they found stacks of cash and Russian SIM cards in his home. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said it detained a lieutenant colonel from its own agency, and discovered stacks of foreign cash and SIM cards issued by Russian carriers when searching his home. The lieutenant colonel's arrest comes as Ukraine's key security services continue to wrestle with the task of eliminating Russian moles among their ranks. "Ukraine made a major mistake in not following the lead of the Baltic nations following independence in reforming the security services from ground zero," he said, per The Guardian.

☆ U.S. Warns Banks to Watch for Russian Oligarchs Investing in Commercial Real Estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Banks should be on alert for Russian oligarchs attempting to circumvent U.S. sanctions by investing in commercial real estate, a U.S. Treasury Department watchdog said. Sanctioned individuals may try to use pooled investment vehicles or offshore funds to avoid due-diligence processes, FinCEN said in its alert. Sanctioned individuals could keep lowering their stakes to avoid detection, while still maintaining control of the fund, FinCEN said. Sanctioned individuals aren’t just investing in high-end or luxury properties, according to the alert. Federal prosecutors have warned that lawyers, consultants and other service providers who work for sanctioned individuals could run afoul of the law.

☆ Zelenskyy fired 9 top officials after reports that members of his government went on vacation to Spain and France and took bribes during the war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired a slew of senior officials on Tuesday. In December, Symonenko went on holiday to Spain using a Mercedes owned by a prominent Ukrainian businessman, The Guardian reported. "Of course, now the main focus is the issue of defense, this is the issue of foreign policy, this is the issue of war," he said. On Monday, Zelenskyy banned officials from traveling abroad until the end of the war, except for when performing government duties. Zelenskyy's press office and Ukraine's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Former FBI Agent Charged With Taking Payments From Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dylan Tokar | C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

A former high-level FBI agent was indicted on charges he violated U.S. sanctions by accepting secret payments from Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska for work he did investigating a rival oligarch. Mr. McGonigal, who also supervised investigations into Mr. Deripaska and other Russian oligarchs before departing the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2018, began conspiring to provide services to Mr. Deripaska in 2021, prosecutors said. Additionally, the former FBI agent in 2019 participated in an unsuccessful effort to have the sanctions on Mr. Deripaska lifted, prosecutors said. PREVIEWAn indictment unsealed on Monday charged Mr. McGonigal and a former Russian diplomat, Sergey Shestakov, with violating and conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions imposed on Mr. Deripaska in 2018, as well as with related money-laundering charges. Prosecutors in October also announced the indictment of a British businessman who worked as a property manager for Mr. Deripaska.

☆ Ex-FBI official arrested for alleged money laundering, Russia sanctions, taking money from former foreign agent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan_Dienst_Byline.Jpg | Jonathan Dienst | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Charles McGonigal, 55, was arrested on Saturday after arriving at JFK airport in New York on a flight from the Middle East. From August 2017 through his retirement in September 2018, McGonigal allegedly concealed his relationship with this former foreign security officer from the FBI. Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York office. In 2022, federal prosecutors in New York charged Deripaska with violating sanctions. McGonigal joined the FBI in 1996, and was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked on Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime.

☆ Potanin says sanctions constrain Nornickel, force it to adjust strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] President and Chairman of the Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia June 6, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovJan 23 (Reuters) - Nornickel boss Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s richest men, said on Monday that the metals giant was reworking its strategy and building closer ties with countries such as China, Turkey and Morocco because of Western sanctions on the Russian economy. We have to deal with all this," added Potanin, who is Nornickel's (GMKN.MM) chief executive and biggest shareholder, owning 36% through his Interros holding group. Potanin reiterated the view he stated soon after the war began, that Russia should not respond to sanctions by confiscating or nationalising Western assets. Potanin was placed on a U.S. sanctions list last month as part of wider measures targeting people and businesses close to President Vladimir Putin.

☆ Ex-FBI official pleads not guilty to violating U.S. sanctions on Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Charles McGonigal, a former FBI agent arrested over the weekend on accusations he worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, pleaded not guilty on Monday in federal court in Manhattan. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former FBI official accused of hiding a $225,000 cash payment from an ex-foreign officer while overseeing an agency counter-intelligence division
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A former top FBI official was charged in two jurisdictions on Monday. The ex-counter-intelligence official was charged with secretly receiving cash payments from a former foreign officer. McGonigal also traveled abroad with the official and met with foreign nationals in Europe, where the official had business interests, according to the DOJ. "Covering up your contacts with foreign nationals and hiding your personal financial relationships is a gateway to corruption," US Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves said. "There are no exceptions for anyone, including a former FBI official like Mr. McGonigal," FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael Driscoll said in a statement.

☆ Ex-FBI official worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A former top FBI official was arrested over the weekend on accusations he worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, prosecutors said on Monday. Charles McGonigal, who led the agency's counterintelligence division in New York before retiring in 2018, faces four counts including sanctions violations and money laundering. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say McGonigal, 54, received concealed payments from Deripaska, who was sanctioned in 2018, in exchange for investigating a rival oligarch in 2021. He is also charged with unsuccessfully pushing in 2019 for the lifting of the sanctions on Deripaska. The following month, U.S. prosecutors charged British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter with conspiring to violate sanctions by trying to move Deripaska's artwork in the United States overseas.

☆ Former top FBI counterintelligence agent Charles McGonigal charged with violating Russia sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

That other person later became an FBI source in a criminal probe of foreign political lobbying, which McGonigal was supervising, authorities said. The former top FBI agent in New York for counterintelligence was arrested with an ex-Russian diplomat and charged with violating U.S. sanctions on Russia after he left the FBI by trying to help the oligarch Oleg Deripaska get off the sanctions list, federal prosecutors said Monday. McGonigal and Shestakov, 69, who also was arrested Saturday evening, are due to appear in court in Manhattan later Monday. McGonigal previously had investigated Deripaska, who made his fortune in Russia's aluminum industry, while at the FBI. McGonigal agreed to help, and told an FBI supervisor who worked for him that he wanted to recruit the Deripaska employee, the indictment says.

☆ The Nord Stream pipeline attack shows what Russia can do, Western officials say, even if they can't prove Russia did it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After months of investigation, Western officials can't prove Russia blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. While they can't name Russia as the culprit, officials say the attacks illustrate what Russia can do. The vulnerability of undersea infrastructure, like pipelines and data cables, is a growing concern. Four months on, investigators are unable to prove Moscow was behind the attack, but officials say the explosions illustrate the threat malign actors — especially Russia — pose to vital undersea infrastructure. Despite the uncertainty, the attack has only added to concern about threats to undersea infrastructure, particularly cables and pipelines, that connects continents and powers economies.

KYIV, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Russian missile attacks hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday morning, officials said, and the governor of another region warned that a massive missile strike could follow in the coming hours. Russia, which invaded last February, has been pounding Ukraine's vital energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water as winter bites. "Missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities. The attacks hit critical energy infrastructure and industrial facilities in the Kharkiv and Chuhuev district of the region, he said. Residential infrastructure was also hit in the village of Kopyliv in the Kyiv region just outside the capital.

☆ Factbox: Who is Russia's new war commander Gerasimov and why was he appointed?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Gerasimov's deputies will be Army General Sergei Surovikin, the previous theatre commander, appointed three months ago and nicknamed "General Armageddon"; Army General Oleg Salyukov; and Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel-General Alexei Kim. "Now the General Staff is directly and uncompromisingly responsible for absolutely everything," said Semyon Pegov, a Russian military blogger who uses the name Wargonzo. Gerasimov was appointed chief of the general staff and deputy defence minister by Putin on Nov. 9, 2012, three days after Putin's long-time ally Sergei Shoigu was made defence minister. Gerasimov played key roles in Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and in Russia's game-changing military support for President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War. Gerasimov was born on Sept. 8, 1955, in Kazan, rising through the ranks from Russia's tank forces to graduate in 1997 from the Military Academy of the General Staff.

☆ Putin replaces commander of Russia’s war in Ukraine after just 3 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Henry Austin | Henry Austin Is A London-Based Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced the commander leading his forces in Ukraine just three months after he handed him the job. He previously led Russian forces in Syria and was accused of overseeing a brutal bombardment that destroyed much of the city of Aleppo. Britain’s defense ministry called Gerasimov’s appointment “a significant development” in Putin’s approach to the war. Although it has little intrinsic value, it lies at a strategic point around 6 miles north of the city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces are aiming to surround. Taking Bakhmut would disrupt Ukrainian supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to press toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk province.

☆ Pro-Putin operatives in Germany work to turn Berlin against Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +17 min

Now the main Russian Cossack organisations are loyal to Putin, and they are fighting alongside Russia’s forces in Ukraine. He is regularly pictured on his and other social media pages at Cossack gatherings, often wearing Cossack military uniform. Felk has worked as a security guard and has run a logistics firm, according to posts on Felk’s OK social media account. Photos shared by Kharkovsky on social media show him and other participants standing in front of a Great Don Army flag. Eremenko confirmed to Reuters that he worked for Russian military intelligence, the GRU.

☆ Belarus downs Ukrainian air defence missile, no cause for alarm - officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Belarus' defence ministry said its air defences had downed a Ukrainian S-300 missile in a field on Thursday morning, during one of Russia's largest missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of the war. The S-300 is a Soviet-era air defence system that is used by both Russia and Ukraine. The incident occurred at the same time Russia was launching its latest wave of missile attacks on cities across Ukraine. BelTA published photos and video of what it said were parts of an S-300 missile lying in an empty agricultural field. The defence ministry did not provide any information about casualties, and said it would provide more detailed information in the near future.

☆ Belarus protests to Ukraine after downing stray air defence missile
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Belarus protested to Ukraine's ambassador on Thursday after saying it had downed a Ukrainian S-300 air defence missile in a field, during one of Russia's heaviest aerial onslaughts against Ukraine since the start of the war. A Ukrainian military spokesman in effect acknowledged that the missile was a Ukrainian stray, saying the incident was "nothing strange, a result of air defence" and something that "has happened more than once". The S-300 is a Soviet-era air defence system used by both Russia and Ukraine. "Fragments were found in an agricultural field ... the wreckage belongs to an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile fired from the territory of Ukraine," the defence ministry said. BelTA published photos and video of what it said were parts of an S-300 missile lying in an empty field.

☆ AK-47 vs. AK-74: How Russia's workhorse rifles stack up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Travis Pike | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today we are going to dig deep into the differences and do a little AK-47 vs AK-74 showdown. Breaking down the AK-47 vs. AK-74 historyMikhail Kalashnikov with an AK-74 in November 2002. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichBig brother AK-47 can teach the younger 74 some lessons in this AK-47 vs AK-74 brawl. From a civilian-ownership perspective, we need to look at commonality and logistics in our AK-47 vs AK-74 deathmatch. Mikhail Japaridze\TASS via Getty ImagesIt's time to declare a winner in the AK-47 vs AK-74 grudge match.

☆ Three dead as blast shuts part of Russia-Ukraine gas export pipeline
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A blast ripped through a gas pipeline in central Russia, killing three people and disrupting some of the limited amount of Russian gas that is still reaching Europe, local officials said on Tuesday. He said it was unclear when gas supplies via the pipeline could resume, and authorities were trying to work that out. The pipeline, built in the 1980s, enters Ukraine via the Sudzha metering point, currently the main route for Russian gas to reach Europe. Europe's gas prices have surged this year after Russia cut exports through its main gas pipeline route into Germany, leaving only pipelines via Ukraine to ship Russian gas to European consumers. The head office of the state-owned gas producer Gazprom and its local branch did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

☆ Russian oligarchs believe Putin tricked them into appearing to support the war in Ukraine, and got them all sanctioned, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian oligarchs say Putin tricked them into supporting his war in Ukraine, per The New York Times. When Putin announced the invasion, they were gathered before cameras "to tar everyone there," The Times reported. "Russian businesspeople, Russian officials, the Russian people — they saw a czar in him. He joined rows of other business moguls who were equally surprised by Putin's invasion. In the weeks and months that followed, Russian oligarchs had their assets frozen and were banned from traveling to some countries as the Ruble fell into freefall.

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