March 28, 2024: Russian Digest
Top stories I'm keeping an eye on!
March 28, 2024
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Russia intensifies attacks on Kharkiv, draining Ukraine's air defense and civilian morale
Russian troops on March 27 attacked Kharkiv, killing a 59-year-old man and injuring 19 people, including four children. This was the first time since 2022 that Russian troops used a glide air bomb, reportedly a new-type UMPB D-30 munition, to strike the city.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, located just over 30 kilometers south of the Russian border, faces near-daily attacks.
Only within the last month, Kharkiv has been struck around ten times with missiles, drones, and now air bombs, suffering from severe damage to civilian infrastructure, as well as having an increase in the number of casualties among locals.
"And these attacks will continue," Victor Kevlyuk, expert at the Centre for Defense Strategies, told the Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West provide more air defense systems to Ukraine, following Russia's attack on the city.
Read More at Kyiv Independent
Poland Scrambles Jets Due to Russian Missile Attack
We would like to inform you that tonight there is intense activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, related to missile strikes of Tu-95, Tu-22, and MIG-31 aircraft carried out against objects located in the territory of Ukraine. All necessary procedures to ensure the safety of Polish airspace have been launched, and DO RSZ is monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis.
We warn that Polish and allied aircraft have been activated, which may result in increased noise levels, especially in the southeastern part of the country.
Via Poland’s Operation Command on X
Top manager of Rosatom was arrested on charges of large bribe
The Basmanny Court of Moscow took into custody Gennady Sakharov, Director for Capital Investments, State Construction Supervision and State Expertise of Rosatom, on charges of bribery on an especially large scale (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code). He will remain in pre-trial detention until May 26. The top manager faces up to 15 years in prison.
Sakharov’s detention became known on Thursday. First Deputy General Director of Orgenergostroy, Elgudzhi Kokosadze, was tied up with him. The latter was accused of giving a bribe to an official (Part 5 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code). Details of the case are not provided.
Sakharov has been Director of Capital Investments at Rosatom since 2010. He is also on the board and holds the post of vice-president of the Russian Union of Builders (RUC) for engineering and interaction with the international expert community.
Sakharov himself said in 2023 that he worked in the construction complex of the nuclear industry for more than 20 years. In recent years, he was responsible for the implementation of strategic projects for the construction in Russia of a multi-purpose fast neutron research reactor ( MBIR ) and the BREST-OD-300 power unit.
This is not the first case of bribery against top managers associated with Rosatom. Last summer, the general director of the National Operator for Radioactive Waste Management, FSB reserve Lieutenant Colonel Igor Igin, was arrested on similar charges. The company is part of a state corporation. According to investigators, Igin received 132.5 million rubles from the management of St. Petersburg LLC Spetsproekt in exchange for government contracts. A year before his arrest, the top manager was awarded the Order of Honor.
Via The Moscow Times
The Prosecutor General's Office demanded the nationalization of Russia's largest pasta producer
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has filed a lawsuit to convert the shares of Russia's largest pasta manufacturer, Makfa JSC, into state revenue, Kommersant sources reported. The request will be considered by the Central District Court of Chelyabinsk.
The department believes that Makfa and a dozen other enterprises, including Smak and Chelyabinskoblgaz, should be nationalized since their beneficiaries Mikhail Yurevich and Vadim Belousov conducted entrepreneurial activities while simultaneously working in government agencies.
For many years, the defendants used their high position “to achieve their own business interests,” violating the prohibitions and restrictions established by anti-corruption legislation, the supervisory authority emphasized. Thus, Yurevich was a State Duma deputy from 2000 to 2005, headed Chelyabinsk until 2010, and later, until 2014, the Chelyabinsk region. Belousov was a deputy of three convocations of the State Duma from 2011 to 2023.
By law, they were supposed to stop doing business and declare their assets, but this did not happen, and “in fact” the defendants continued to own a group of commercial companies, the prosecutor’s office noted. In particular, Yurevich owned the Chelyabinsk Pasta Factory, the Sosnovsky Bread Factory, and the Chelyabinsk Bread Factory No. 1. Subsequently, on their basis, Makfa and the First Bread Factory were formed.
Via The Moscow Times
Back to the Soviet Union! This action is part of a larger effort by the Kremlin to nationalize companies…
"Putin gave the green light to the nationalization of the property of businessmen-“saboteurs”
Bodies of the Prosecutor General's Office are working to return a number of large enterprises and property complexes to state ownership, President Vladimir Putin said at the department's board on Tuesday.
According to him, this is an “important moment” in the work of prosecutors, which is generally aimed at protecting the social and economic rights of citizens, as well as upholding the interests of the state and society.
Nationalization of business property “is justified in situations where assets were acquired in circumvention, in violation of the law and, moreover, are used to the detriment of the state,” Putin said.
He added that “in each such case, one must act strictly according to the law, within the framework of clear legal procedures.”
During 2022-2023 more than 180 private enterprises came under state control, and demands for nationalization that came to the courts in two years concerned almost two hundred companies.
Via The Moscow Times
Germany charges five with helping illegal turbine sales to Crimea
Prosecutors in Hamburg charged four Germans and one Swiss-French citizen with violating sanctions by helping export Siemens gas turbines to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia, a prosecution spokesperson said on Wednesday.
According to the charge sheet, first reported by Wirtschaftswoche magazine, the five knew when they helped export the turbines, worth 111 million euros ($120.11 million), from Hamburg to St. Petersburg that their ultimate destination would be two power plants in Crimea.
A Siemens spokesperson said it continued to support authorities with their inquiries, as they had since they first learned of the case in 2016. One of the suspects was still with the company, the spokesperson added, and all five were contesting the charges.
Western companies are barred from selling to Crimea, whose 2014 annexation is not recognized by any major government.
The business unit in question is now Siemens Energy, which was carved out of Siemens in 2020. Siemens continues to hold a minority stake.
A spokesperson for Siemens Energy said it was also cooperating with investigators.
Via Yahoo News
Russian network that 'paid European politicians' busted, authorities claim
A Russian-backed "propaganda" network has been broken up for spreading anti-Ukraine stories and paying unnamed European politicians, according to authorities in several countries.
Investigators claimed it used the popular Voice of Europe website as a vehicle to pay politicians.
The Czech Republic and Poland said the network aimed to influence European politics.
Voice of Europe did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.
Czech media, citing intelligence sources, reported that politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary were paid by Voice of Europe in order to influence upcoming elections for the European Parliament.
The German newspaper Der Spiegel said the money was either handed over in cash in covert meetings in Prague or through cryptocurrency exchanges.
Pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk is alleged by the Czech Republic to be behind the network.
Mr Medvedchuk was arrested in Ukraine soon after the Russian invasion, but later transferred to Russia with about 50 prisoners of war in exchange for 215 Ukrainians.
Czech authorities also named Artyom Marchevsky, alleging he managed the day-to-day business of the website. Both men were sanctioned by Czech authorities.
Poland's intelligence agency said it had conducted searches in the Warsaw and Tychy regions and seized €48,500 (£41,500) and $36,000 (£28,500).
"Money from Moscow has been used to pay some political actors who spread Russian propaganda," BIS said in a statement.
Read More at BBC
US and UK Probe $20 Billion of Crypto Transfers to Russian Exchange
The US and UK are reviewing more than $20 billion of cryptocurrency transactions that passed through a Russia-based virtual exchange, according to people familiar with the matter, as part of allied efforts to crack down on the sanctions evasion that’s supporting Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The payments under scrutiny went through Moscow-based crypto exchange Garantex using the dollar-pegged cryptocurrency Tether, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that hasn’t yet been made public. The transfers have taken place since Garantex was sanctioned by the US and UK on suspicion of enabling financial crimes and illicit transactions in Russia, they said.
Read More at Bloomberg
Latvian Broker Arrested for Allegedly Smuggling Advanced U.S. Aircraft Technology to Russia
In a superseding indictment returned by a grand jury, a citizen of the Republic of Latvia is charged with crimes related to a years-long conspiracy to sell sophisticated avionics equipment to Russian companies, in violation of U.S. export laws. The defendant is the third to be arrested and charged in connection with the conspiracy led by a Kansas company and two U.S. nationals.
According to the superseding indictment, Oleg Chistyakov, also known as Olegs Čitsjakovs, 55, conspired with U.S. citizens Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky and Douglas Edward Robertson, of Kansas, to facilitate the sale, repair and shipment of U.S. avionics equipment to customers in Russia and in other countries that operate Russian-built aircraft, including the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB). Chistyakov was arrested on March 19 near Riga, Latvia, and remains detained pending extradition proceedings. In December 2023, Buyanovsky pleaded guilty to conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and consented to the forfeiture of over $450,000 worth of avionics equipment and a $50,000 personal forfeiture judgment.
Read More at The U.S. Department of Justice
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service head visits North Korea to strengthen cooperation in response to pressure from external forces
Sergey Naryshkin, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, has spent three days in North Korea against the backdrop of reports of weapon supplies from North Korea to Russia and oil from Russia to North Korea in violation of international sanctions.
Source: Radio Svoboda with reference to the North Korean Central News Agency and Russian Foreign Intelligence Service
Details: North Korean Central News Agency reported the visit to Pyongyang took place on 25-27 March, during which the sides discussed "business matters regarding further strengthening cooperation in response to the intrigues of hostile forces".
The report also mentioned that North Korean Foreign Trade Minister Yun Jong Ho departed for Moscow for negotiations.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service stated that Naryshkin discussed "deepening cooperation while external forces attempt to increase pressure" in Pyongyang and the negotiations took place "in a warm friendly atmosphere".
Via Ukrainian Pravda
Russian veto brings an end to the UN panel that monitors North Korea nuclear sanctions
A veto Thursday by Russia ended monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, prompting Western accusations that Moscow is seeking to avoid scrutiny as it allegedly violates the sanctions to buy weapons from Pyongyang for its war in Ukraine.
Russia’s turnaround on the U.N. monitoring reflects how Moscow’s growing animosity with the U.S. and its Western allies since the start of the Ukraine war has made it difficult to reach consensus on even issues where there has been longstanding agreement.
The veto came during a vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have extended the mandate of a panel of experts monitoring sanctions on North Korea for a year, but which will now halt its operation when its current mandate expires at the end of April.
The vote in the 15-member council, with 13 in favor, Russia against, and China abstaining, has no impact on the actual sanctions against North Korea, which remain in force.
Read More at AP
Gabonese Firm Supplied $1.5 Bln in Aircraft Parts to Russia in 2023
A company based in the West African nation of Gabon imported nearly $1.5 billion worth of aircraft parts to Russia last year despite Western sanctions in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, The Moscow Times’ Russian service reported Thursday, citing customs data.
Of the nearly $2 billion worth of aircraft parts exported to Russia in 2023, the Gabonese-registered company Ter Assala Parts accounted for $1.48 billion, making it the single largest supplier for that year.
After Gabon, the top country exporters of aircraft parts to Russia were Thailand, with more than $200 million worth of exported parts, and the United Arab Emirates, with more than $160 million.
An unnamed citizen from the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan is listed as the beneficiary of Ter Assala Parts, which is reportedly not listed in Gabon’s official trade registry.
According to an import business owner with knowledge of registration procedures who spoke to MT Russian on condition of anonymity, Ter Assala Parts is likely a front company registered in another country that does business via Gabon.
Read More at The Moscow Times
Russia increases gasoline imports from Belarus as domestic supplies shrink
Russia has increased gasoline imports from neighbouring Belarus in March to tackle the risk of shortages in its domestic market because of unscheduled repairs at Russian refineries after drone attacks, four industry and trade sources said on Wednesday.
Usually Russia is a net exporter of fuel and a supplier to international markets, but the disruption of Russian refining has forced oil companies to import.
Read More at Reuters
Kazakhstan recommended its citizens to urgently leave the Kharkiv and Odesa regions of Ukraine
Authorities are calling on Kazakh citizens to leave the Odesa and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine due to the unstable security situation, according to the embassy.
“Due to the growing tension and unstable security situation in the Odesa and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ukraine recommends that citizens of Kazakhstan consider leaving these regions,” the message says.
Via Kazakhstan Embassy Telegram