Translated material
The cost of war in Ukraine. Online September 10-11
The Bell continues to conduct online, dedicated to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, which began on February 24
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19:46 Russia has offered India "substantial discounts" on its oil supplies, and in return, India must reject the G7 initiative to limit the marginal prices for Russian oil, Indian Business Standard reports , citing sources in the Indian Foreign Ministry. According to the newspaper, Moscow is ready to supply oil at even lower prices than before.
18:30 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro proposed to introduce visas for Russians. The head of the department, Ranko Krivokapic, came up with such an initiative against the backdrop of the cancellation of the EU visa facilitation agreement with Russia. Now Russians can stay without a visa in Montenegro for up to 30 days with a valid passport.
17:19 Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with Emmanuel Macron. The main topic of the talks, according to information published on the Kremlin's website , was the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Summary of the conversation (according to the Russian authorities):
- Putin pointed to "regular Ukrainian attacks on ZNPP facilities";
- Russian specialists provide physical protection for the plant;
- Kyiv must be influenced so that “the shelling of the station will be immediately stopped”;
- Russia and France express their readiness for "non-politicized interaction on the situation around the ZNPP with the participation of the IAEA";
- Ukrainian troops use Western weapons in "massive shelling" of civilian infrastructure;
- grain from the Black Sea ports should be sent primarily to developing countries.
16:36 The Kremlin decided to postpone the holding of referendums on the "accession" of the occupied territories to Russia for an indefinite period, learned Meduza (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia). The reason is the successful counteroffensive of Ukrainian troops in the Kharkov region.
13:47 The European Commission's gas price ceiling plan will be presented in September, told Italian Minister for Environmental Modernization and Transformation Roberto Cingolani Repubblica. This week, EU countries failed to agree on the parameters of the restriction. Among other things, most of them believe that the ceiling should be introduced not only for Russia, but also for other gas suppliers.
12:26 From the end of February to August, tried 10 citizens of the Russian Federation to get a "golden visa" for Portugal. The country's authorities rejected their applications - the program for the Russians was suspended after the start of the war.
The main thing for the night and morning:
- The work of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant has been completely stopped, according to the Ukrainian Energoatom. The last, sixth, power unit was disconnected from the network on the night of September 10-11, it is being prepared for transfer to a cold state. The company noted that for the last three days it served only the ZNPP's own needs "at a critically low power level." The night before, one of the damaged power lines was restored, and the nuclear power plant was connected to the Ukrainian energy system, which made it possible to transfer the sixth power unit to the safest condition.
- Finance Minister Anton Siluanov called the budget for the next three years the most difficult in his career (he has headed the Finance Ministry since December 2011). Against the backdrop of sanctions, funds are being laid into the project to achieve the country's technological sovereignty in order to replenish the competencies previously received from abroad. “The program is long enough, of course, but without it we cannot ensure technological sovereignty. And all this also requires money,” says Siluanov.
- Polina Yumasheva bought the chain of clinics "Chaika". The ex-wife of billionaire Oleg Deripaska acquired 86.37% in the parent Chaika Group LLC from businessman and media investor Alexander Vinokurov. The amount of the transaction is not disclosed. In the spring, Yumasheva sold Vinokurov the Creative Media company that manages The Village, Wonderzine, Spletnik.ru (the parties agreed even before the start of the “special operation” and blocking The Village; the amount is also unknown). Vinokurov stressed that the two transactions are not an asset exchange, but a regular sale and purchase agreement.
- The Circle of Kindness Charitable Foundation (which supports children with serious illnesses) pointed out problems with the import of medicines due to a revision of logistics and payment schemes in connection with the sanctions. They consider it necessary to adopt a UN resolution to exclude the spread of sanctions on the supply of medicines. At the same time, none of the suppliers refused to fulfill contractual obligations to the fund. The Circle of Kindness was created by Vladimir Putin last year with funds raised from a tax on high-income Russians.
Continued online September 11th.
18:49 The Moldovan regulator has banned Air Moldova and other national carriers from resuming flights to Moscow, Reuters reports with reference to the country's Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spina. The airline announced yesterday that flights between Moscow and Chisinau will start again from October 1.
17:07 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation actually recognized the abandonment of Balakleya and Izyum. The "regrouping" is being done "to build up efforts in the Donetsk direction," the ministry said.
16:49 International Tobacco Group, the Russian manufacturer of cigarettes under the brands Davidoff, West, Jadé, P&S and Maxim, has changed its main founder. With a share of 75%, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, on September 8, Nikolay Tyaka, a partner of the largest tobacco distributor Megapolis, billionaires Igor Kesaev and Sergey Katsiev, became the owner. the change of the majority shareholder of International Tobacco Group RBC was the first to notice .
16:23 Vladislav Postnikov, editor-in-chief of the Yekaterinburg edition of Vecherniye Vedomosti, had bank accounts for 5 million rubles arrested for "damage caused by the crime." “Fortunately or unfortunately, I never held that kind of money in my life, so the state spent about 700 rubles,” he wrote on the Telegram channel. On Thursday, September 8, Postnikov's apartment and the homes of other journalists in several Russian regions were searched. They are associated with the case of "military fakes" against Ilya Ponomarev. The blocking of funds is also connected with the case of the former State Duma deputy, , told RBC. Georgy Krasnov, Postnikov's lawyer
14:16 Ukrainian media and pro-Russian Telegram channels report the release of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of several settlements in the Kharkiv region, including the third largest city of Kupyansk. DPR representative Daniil Bezsonov speaks about the withdrawal of Russian forces from Izyum. The battles for Liman, according to some sources, continue, but, according to others, the city has already been surrendered. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation have not yet commented on the information.
The main thing for the night and morning:
- The US Treasury has published guidance on marginal prices for Russian oil. It follows from it that companies that decide to buy oil from Russia at prices above the limit set by Washington and its partners in the G7 and the EU face sanctions. Those who comply with it will be able to provide services related to the sea transportation of Russian oil. The list of such services will be made public later, this may include insurance, brokerage services, refueling the ship with fuel, etc. The ban on the import of Russian oil, which the US authorities introduced back in March, remains in force, the Finance Ministry said.
- The TJournal publication (blocked in Russia since mid-March) officially closed after 11 years of operation due to lack of funds for development. “It was a project about technology and Internet culture. On March 14, 2022, Roskomnadzor blocked it at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office due to the publication of “fakes about Russia’s operation in Ukraine,” the says report . The resource was unprofitable even before the blocking, but since March its traffic has fallen fivefold, and the owner of TJ, the Komitet company, has lost a significant part of its advertising revenue.
- According to the results of this year, inflation in Russia may reach 11-14%, and in 2023 the country will face a period of “strong”, moderately high inflation – up to 7%, according to economists from the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting . They noted that in recent years, non-monetary factors have played a significant role in inflation - those that are not directly related to the monetary policy of the Central Bank, including the pandemic and sanctions.