Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the mandatory sale of foreign currency earnings received by some Russian exporting companies. This was reported on the Russian government website. This decision was made to “stabilize the exchange rate.” The decree concerns 43 groups of companies related to the fuel and energy complex, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and forestry industries, and grain farming. These companies are not listed in the Cabinet message.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wants to visit Israel as a sign of solidarity with the country amid the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This was reported by Axios on Ukrainian and Israeli officials. According to the publication’s interlocutors, Zelensky’s office sent an official request to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking him to coordinate the visit. Sources claim that the negotiations are preliminary and the date of the visit has not yet been set.

Civil liberties advocate Oleg Orlov addresses a Russian court at the conclusion of his trial Oleg Orlov on October 11, 2023 The trial of the lifelong civil liberties activist Oleg Orlov concluded today in Moscow. Orlov, chairman of the board of the now-dissolved civil liberties center Memorial, had been charged with discrediting the Russian military after publishing an essay in which he argued that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine had set Russia on a course towards fascism.

Israeli airstrikes killed 11 employees of the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This was reported by Reuters with reference to a statement from the organization. The dead were five teachers, a gynecologist, an engineer, a psychologist, and three support staff. “Some were killed in their homes with their families. UNRWA mourns the losses with our colleagues and families,” the organization said.

Dmitry Rogozin, formerly the head of Russia’s space corporation Roskosmos and now a Federation Council member, has appealed to the federal Investigative Committee, asking the agency to investigate the oligarch investment banker Mikhail Fridman and his alleged financing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Israeli soldiers from Russia and Ukraine describe the start of a new war in the Middle East Jack Guez / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Israeli soldiers in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. October 9, 2023. On the morning of October 7, fighters from Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched an attack on Israel. As of Wednesday , more than 1,200 people are reported to have been killed and more than 2,900 people injured in Israel.

Philologist Svetlana Drugoveyko-Dolzhanskaya, who acted as an expert for the defense in the case of artist Sasha Skochilenko, was fired from St. Petersburg State University, Mediazona reports. According to the teacher, the decision to dismiss was made on the recommendation of the university ethics commission. “Out of deepest amazement, I only delved into the wording of the reason for the dismissal: ‘for committing an immoral act,’” the philologist said in a conversation with the publication.

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov was relieved of his post as head of the Pskov Metropolis, and he was appointed head of the Crimean Metropolis. This decision was made by the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), Interfax reports. Thus, Shevkunov will become Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea. The reason for this decision is not specified. Metropolitan Tikhon is often called the confessor of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Intelligence collected by the US shows that "key Iranian leaders were surprised" by the Hamas attack on Israel. This caused the White House to doubt Iran's involvement in planning the attack, The New York Times writes , citing several American officials. NYT's interlocutors do not name the “key Iranian leaders,” but clarify that these are people who are usually aware of operations involving the Quds Force, the military branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

A massive air raid alert was declared in northern Israel. From the map published by the Israeli media, it follows that the alarm has been declared in most of the north of the country. Update. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman later stated that there were no incidents in the north of the country. The military is now investigating the reason why an air raid alert sounded there due to an alleged drone attack. The IDF added that there were no launches in the direction of Israel from Lebanon.

The Ust-Labinsky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory satisfied the claim to protect the honor and dignity of businessman Oleg Deripaska against entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov and the Meta company, which owns Instagram. Interfax reports this with reference to Deripaska's lawyer Alexei Melnikov. According to Melnikov, the court found Tinkov’s statements about Deripaska untrue and offensive.

Bruna Valeanu moved to Israel from Brazil 10 years ago, also, according to the Brazilian newspaper Folha De S. Paulo, in search of a safer life. She served as a shooting instructor in the Israeli army and studied at Tel Aviv University. On October 7, she went to the Universo Paralello music festival, which took place in the desert near the Gaza Strip. At least 260 people were killed when Hamas militants attacked festival guests. Bruna also died.

Member of the Federation Council Dmitry Rogozin, who previously headed Roscosmos, appealed to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with a request to check reports about the financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by businessman Mikhail Fridman, RIA Novosti reports. “I submitted it today.

The IDF freed the kibbuts kfar aza next to the gas. Journalists who visited there talk about dozens of dead at the hands of terrorists ATEF Safadi / EPA / Scanpix / Leta Israeli soldiers in KFAR Aza kibbuces. October 10, 2023 On October 10, the Israeli defense army, after two-day battles, returned control of the Kfar-Aza kibbutz located in the south of the country five kilometers from the Gaza sector. He was among the first targets on the path of Hamas militants who attacked Israel on October 7.

The Golovinsky District Court of Moscow fined Memorial co-chairman Oleg Orlov 150 thousand rubles in the case of repeated “discrediting” of the army, Mediazona reports. The prosecution demanded that Orlov be fined 250 thousand rubles. The reason for the persecution of the human rights activist was a post on Facebook entitled “They wanted fascism. They got it,” condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine.