Businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is linked to the private military company (PMC) Wagner, was in close contact with the Kremlin and Syrian officials in the weeks before and after the US-led coalition's strike on Syrian government forces that killed Russians, The Washington Post reported, citing US intelligence data.

In Novosibirsk, a car drove onto the sidewalk and hit pedestrians, TASS reports, citing the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Novosibirsk Region. As a result, two people died - a woman and a three-year-old child, and three more people were injured.

The police have opened a criminal case after the seizure of the Lermontovsky sanatorium in Odessa. This was reported by the adviser to the head of the Odessa National Police Department, Ruslan Forostyak, on Facebook . The case was opened under Article 356 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (arbitrariness). Law enforcement officers managed to convince the parties to the conflict not to resort to violent actions, Forostyak noted.

At the end of 2017, the adjusted net profit of UC Rusal amounted to $1.077 billion, which is almost 3.7 times more than in 2016 ($292 million), follows from the company’s reporting . UC Rusal's revenue increased to $9.969 billion compared to $7.983 billion a year earlier. Last year was successful for the aluminum industry, noted UC Rusal. The average aluminum price on the London Metal Exchange increased by 22.7% to $1,968 per tonne. In addition, 2017 saw strong demand for aluminum.

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Gold Star of the Hero of Russia to the parents and widow of military pilot Roman Filipov, who died in Syria. "For his heroism and courage, Guards Major Filipov was awarded the title of Hero of Russia. The Gold Star medal will be presented to his family today," Putin said, as quoted on the Kremlin website. The President compared Filipov to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. "He accepted an unequal battle with terrorists.

US President Donald Trump has announced the largest package of sanctions against North Korea, Reuters reports. The new restrictive measures will increase pressure on the DPRK to force the country to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, the agency notes. "Today I am announcing that we are imposing the largest package of new sanctions on the North Korean regime in the world," Trump said.

Billionaire Oleg Deripaska left his post as president of UC Rusal . Vladislav Solovyov was appointed to this position instead. This was said in a statement . Previously, Soloviev was the CEO of UC Rusal. In addition, he has also been appointed CEO of En+. about possible changes in the management of UC Rusal The Kommersant newspaper previously wrote , citing sources. The publication clarified that Deripaska will retain a seat on the company’s board of directors as a non-executive director.

Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova won gold in single skating at the Olympics in Pyeongchang. She scored 239.57 points in the short and free programs. In second place was Evgenia Medvedeva (238.26 points), and in third place was Canadian athlete Kaetlyn Osmond (231.01 points). Zagitova and Medvedeva were leading after the short program. Medvedeva skated first, setting a world record of 81.61 points. However, a few minutes later Zagitova updated it, receiving 82.92 points from the judges.

February 23, 2018, 12:58 / Updated February 26, 2018, 03:53 / Business UC Rusal asks shareholders for permission to play Russian roulette It may take up to $15.39 billion to buy out Vladimir Potanin's stake in Norilsk Nickel Alexander Terentyev Vitaly Petlevoy You can launch the shoot-out mechanism at any time while the Norilsk Nickel shareholders agreement is in force / Ilya Naymushin / Reuters The board of directors of UC Rusal wants to receive a mandate from shareholders that will allow it to

FC Otkritie Bank will transfer troubled assets worth at least $10 billion to a special banking structure, Chairman of the Board of the Bank Mikhail Zadornov said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “We need about three to four months to create this structure. Assets that can be called “bad” will be transferred to this bank, and their amount will be at least $10 billion,” Zadornov said.

The doping test of Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva, taken on February 18 at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, gave a positive result, the Russian Bobsled Federation reported. A few days earlier, on February 13, the athlete’s sample was clean, the Bobsleigh Federation noted. In Pyeongchang, Nadezhda Sergeeva took 12th place in the doubles competition.

"The Titov List" works, and this gives hope to all who believed in us for the objectivity of the law enforcement system in terms of investigations and the judicial system in terms of choosing an adequate measure of restraint. This is a complete and unconditional victory!" the business ombudsman wrote on Facebook / Maksim Stulov / Vedomosti Rostov businessman Andrei Kakovkin has returned to Russia from London, business ombudsman Boris Titov reported.

State Duma deputy from the LDPR faction and head of the State Duma Committee on International Politics Leonid Slutsky commented to Vedomosti on allegations of sexual harassment of female journalists working in the State Duma. In his opinion, this could be an election provocation.

February 23, 2018, 13:05 / Business The Eurasian Economic Commission considers Russia's ban on the import of milk from Belarus a violation undefined Vedomosti The introduction of restrictions on the supply of Belarusian milk to Russia grossly violates the provisions of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). This was stated by the EEC Minister for Industry and Agro-Industrial Complex Sergei Sidorsky.

Law enforcement agencies of Russia and Argentina have carried out a joint operation to stop a channel for the supply of a large consignment of cocaine to the European market, confirmed the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova. Suspected citizens of both countries have been detained.