Russia is concerned about the increased activity of NATO forces in the Scandinavian peninsula and sees risks of “unintentional incidents” in the region, Russian Ambassador to Special Affairs Nikolai Korchunov was quoted as saying by TASS on Sunday.
In March, Finland and Sweden conducted a combined NATO military exercise. The exercise was long-planned, Reuters reported.
“The latest increase in NATO activity in the Scandinavian peninsula is a cause for concern. Another large-scale military exercise of the alliance was recently held in northern Norway. In our opinion, this does not contribute to the security of the region,” Korchunov said.
According to Korchunov, such activities increase the risk of “unintentional incidents”, which in addition to security risks can cause serious damage to the ecosystem there.
He did not specify what type of incident he was talking about.
One of the Russian president’s closest allies, Vladimir Putin, warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined NATO, Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the European exclave.
Russia is obliging its companies to leave Western stock markets
This was reported by the newspaper “Kommersant”, citing a signed document on the portal of legal information of the Russian Federation.
Thus, the circulation of depository receipts on foreign exchange exchanges must be stopped 10 days after the publication of the law. The companies will be given five working days to take the necessary action to terminate the depository receipt agreements. In some cases, the Russian government may allow further circulation of already issued shares outside the country.
More than 30 depository receipts of Russian companies are traded in the US and EU markets, including Gazprom, Rosneft, and Lukoil.
In early March, the London Stock Exchange stopped trading in shares of 27 issuers with significant ties to Russia, Morgan Stanley excluded them from indices of developing countries, as the country is no longer “not suitable for investment.”
Russian superyachts sail despite sanctions
The Clio superyacht of Russian aluminum billionaire Oleg Deripaska is back on the road after being anchored off the Maldives. His ties to Vladimir Putin put him on the sanctions list, but apparently, that did not stop him from anchoring the $ 65 million vessels in Gücek, Turkey.
According to data from vessels analyzed by Bloomberg News, “Clio” dropped anchor in the Turkish resort on Saturday. The 239-meter yacht had been in the Indian Ocean for at least two months.
Deripaska came under EU sanctions on the same day that the bloc targeted Putin’s adult daughters. The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on tycoons and individuals accused of allowing Moscow to wage war in Ukraine, Bloomberg TV reports.
Nearly a dozen yachts have already been confiscated – Italian authorities have arrested a superyacht worth 530m euros, owned by Russian billionaire Andrei Melnichenko. Spain confiscated $ 90 million worth of Victor Vekselberg’s Tango and $ 600 million worth of Crescent, believed to belong to Igor Sechin, head of the Moscow-based oil company Rosneft.
According to space analysis and data company Spire Global Inc. the actions of the United States and its allies have scattered Russian yachts to places deemed less likely to be confiscated by pleasure craft, including parts of the Middle East and the Caribbean. Megayachts owned by Russians make up 10% of the world’s fleet, according to industry observer The Super Yacht Group.
