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Media: Putin’s friend buys sparkling wine plant in annexed Crimea
The Russian-controlled administration of the Crimea held a tender for the sale of the spartkling wine plant, Novyi Svit (New World) in Sudak on Wednesday, December 20th. The winner was the Southern Project company, which is a 100% “subsidiary" of the Russia bank which is under sanctions and owned by Yury Kovalchuk (who is considered one of Vladimir Putin’s “purses”), RBC news agency reports.
The company was sold for 1.55 billion rubles (about 26 million dollars).
The Novyi Svit winery was …
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Lithuania bans Kaspersky antivirus
On Thursday, December 21, Lithuania banned the use of anti-virus programs produced by the Russian company Kaspersky Lab on computers of government agencies and private companies.
Specifically, this has to do with computers that manage the energy, financial, and transport infrastructure sectors, reports Deutsche Welle.
Reuters news agency quotes the statement from the Lithuanian government which said that that using Kaspersky software can threaten national security. In response, the Russian …
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Merkel asks Putin why Russian officers left Joint Center for the Control and Coordination in Donbas
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, spoke on the phone with the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. The Kremlin's website indicated that the politicians discussed the situation in the Donbas. Merkel asked her Russian colleague why Russian officers left the Joint Center for Control and Coordination for the ceasefire and stabilization of the Contact Line (JCCC).
In response, Putin accused the Ukrainian authorities “who had made it difficult for the Russian military to work because of …
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SBU detains one of its employees for spying for Russia
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed a senior expert adviser from its central departments that had been cooperating with the Russian special services, as reported on the SBU website.
"The SBU operatives found that the Lieutenant Colonel had been handing over the classified information to the representatives of the aggressor country. He also assisted the Russian special services in conducting espionage and subversive activities to the detriment of the national security of Ukraine," the …
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Putin orders issue of special bonds for the repatriation of capital back to Russia
While attending a meeting with businessmen, Vladimir Putin announced that he has issued an order for as early as 2018 for the issuance of special bonds for the repatriation of capital to Russia. The decision was made jointly by the government and the Central Bank.
"At your last meeting, you asked for the creation of favorable mechanisms for the return of capital to Russian jurisdiction. As a tool, we have decided to use domestic bonds for external loans denominated in foreign currency. I have …