Andrey Kostin, the head of VTB Bank, who is under EU and US sanctions, may own $130 million worth of assets in Europe and Russia. This follows from the material of the Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP). According to the center, the banker's confidant is a native of Canada, Eric White, who owns a chain of companies in the British Virgin Islands. These companies, according to OCCRP, were allegedly used to manage assets associated with VTB and directly with Kostin.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on the abductions and torture of citizens of Ukraine in the territories occupied by Russia. The report refers to dozens of such cases Photo: Gaelle Girbes / Getty images The organization is sure that such methods are used by Russian security forces to obtain information, as well as to inspire fear for people - so that they come to terms with the occupation.

A Smolensk military court has sentenced blogger and ex-employee of Alexey Navalny’s headquarters Sergey Komandirov to six and a half years of imprisonment over justifying terrorism charges for his repost on Russian social media Vkontakte, reports Telegram channel Komandirov’s Case. During the proceedings, the prosecutor asked for seven years of jail time.

The Vyborgsky District Court of St. Petersburg changed the measure of restraint for Boris Romanov, accused in the case of "fakes" about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), from arrest to a ban on certain actions. This is stated in the telegram channel of the joint press service of the courts.

Russia had a network of secret agents in Ukraine, including at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, thanks to which Russian troops seized the plant without resistance, Reuters reports , citing several sources from both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. The agency claims that against the backdrop of a war that has been going on for five months, the bloodless seizure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by Russian troops seems anomalous.

A Moscow Magistrate’s Court has fined messenger WhatsApp , social media Snapchat , online dating app Tinder , streaming service Spotify , and the online booking website Hotels.com for refusing to localise the data of its Russian users, report Russian news agency Interfax and state news agency RIA Novosti. The company Match Group LLC, which owns Tinder, was fined two million rubles (€32,632); the company Snap Inc., which owns Snapchat, got a fine of one million rubles (€16,316).

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has launched a disciplinary investigation after fans of Turkish football club Fenerbahce began chanting the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a match against Dynamo Kiev. This was reported on the UEFA website. "The UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector will conduct a disciplinary investigation into the alleged misconduct of Fenerbahce fans," the statement said.

European countries gradually close the borders for the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Cyril (Gundyaev). Why is this an existential disaster for him? Photo: EPA-EFE Farewell to Lithuania On July 27, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry imposed personal sanctions against the head of the Moscow Patriarchate of Kirill (Gundyaev), forbidding him to enter the country at least until 2027.

Estonia announced the termination of the issuance of temporary residence permits and visas for Russians to study in the country. This is stated in a statement on the website of the Estonian government. In addition, citizens of Russia and Belarus will not be able to get a short-term job if they do not have a valid visa issued by Estonia. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu stressed that Russia's war against Ukraine also threatens the security of Estonia and the European Union.

The Magistrate's Court of the Tagansky District of Moscow fined the WhatsApp messenger , the social network for sharing photos and videos Snapchat dating app , the Tinder streaming service , the Spotify hotel booking site and the Hotels.com for refusing to localize the data of Russian users (parts 8, 9 of article 13.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses RF). This was reported by Interfax and RIA Novosti.

Following a missile strike on Ukraine’s city of Kropyvnytskyi, Kropyvnytskyi region, by Russian forces five people were killed, including one soldier, 25 people were wounded, reports Ukraine’s national public broadcaster Suspilne, citing the head of the regional military administration Andriy Raikovich’s remarks during a briefing. Among the wounded there are 12 servicemen and 13 civilians. The type of missiles used is being determined, their remnants have not been found yet, he said.

The Leninsky District Court of Saratov, at the suit of the prosecutor's office, again restricted access to the browser for anonymous access to the Tor Internet in Russia. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the press service of the court. The Roskomsvoboda project notes that the court declared prohibited the information contained in the Tor Browser software application, as well as the Tor Browser application itself.

The Smolensk garrison military court sentenced blogger and former activist of Navalny's headquarters Sergei Komandirov to 6.5 years in prison in the case of justifying terrorism (part 2 of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) for reposting on VKontakte. This was reported in the telegram channel "Case Commander". The prosecutor during the debate requested 7 years in prison.

The story of Denis Manturov, a man used to indulging himself who will be in charge of Russia’s tech sovereignty Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images On 15 July, the Russian State Duma (lower house) convened an emergency session to approve the appointment of Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov as Deputy Prime Minister. He also retained his previous position.

The second cassation court of general jurisdiction in Moscow softened for a year the verdict of the defendant of the case of the “new greatness” Pavel Rebrovsky. This was announced by the former defendant in Moscow Case Konstantin Kotov. Rebrovsky was appointed five years in colony of general regime instead of six years in prison. Pavel Rebrovsky.