Oorlog in Oekraïne #972 - Iran zonder president

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France to open plant for production of 155mm shells in Belgium
France plans to open a new plant for the production of 155mm artillery shells in Belgium.

A military observer for The Insider reported on this.

The plant will be opened next week by KNDS Mecar in Belgium, a subsidiary of the French company Ouest-France.

In the long run, this will provide a significant increase in the production of artillery shells, which are now so much needed by both Ukraine and European militaries.

It should be noted that the Petit-Roeulx-les-Nivelles plant will specialize in producing the artillery shells.

They will be filled with explosives at other enterprises in Belgium and France.

Despite the opening, the plant’s full operation will begin no earlier than 2025, excluding the increase in production rates.

In addition to expanding the production of 155-mm shell casings, France is also expanding the production of special modular artillery charges used to fire artillery shells.

Modular propellant charge manufacturer Eurenco plans to increase production of propellant charges for artillery to 500,000 units per year.

According to the order, the French company will launch production and produce up to 1,200 tons of artillery powder per year at its facilities in Bergerac, for which over ¤500 million have been invested.

Militarnyi previously reported that a new gunpowder production line for the needs of the EU and Ukraine was being built in the French city of Bergerac.

The plant’s new production line should start operating in early 2025, and almost immediately, the Ukrainian military should receive the first “fruits” of its production.

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"We expect unknown UAVS": Guerrillas in Smolensk sabotaged and weakened Russian air defences.

The Russian air defence system in the Smolensk region will be noticeably weakened as a result of the actions of the ATESH guerrillas.

An agent of the ATESH guerrilla movement conducted a sabotage near Russia's Smolensk and destroyed air defence telecommunications equipment. This was reported by the ATESH guerrilla movement on 23 May.

An agent of our movement destroyed an external telecommunication cabinet of a communication tower in the village of Stanichki near Smolensk, - the guerrillas reported.

As a result of the sabotage, the air defence communication systems of the 49th anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian troops, which were placed on this tower, ceased to operate.

It is noted that the stability of the military control system in the region may be disrupted. The Russian air defence system in the region will be noticeably weakened, which will make it possible to more effectively strike military facilities of the Moscow Military District of the Russian Federation.

We expect unknown UAVs in the region," ATESH added.

Earlier Socialportal reported that ATESH guerrillas carried out a sabotage on the railway in the Tambov region of the Russian Federation.

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Russians armed its Su-30 fighter jets with long-range missiles

^{Su-30SM2 fighter jet of the Russian Navy's naval aviation. Photo credits: Russian media}

Footage of a Su-30 fighter jet of the Russian Navy’s naval aviation, which is equipped with a R-37M long-range missile, is being shared online.

Russian media have released the video.

It captures the takeoff of a Su-30SM2 fighter jet with three R-37M long-range missiles.

The aircraft is a part of the Russian Naval Aviation. This may indicate that their modernization to the level of the 2021 program, which expanded the range of weapons, has already begun.

Винищувач Су-30СМ2 з ракетами великої дально�ті Р-37М

It is reported that these fighter jets are stationed at Saky Air Base in the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea.

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Ukrainian troops destroy Russian Zoopark-1 radar station

^{Russian 1L219 Zoopark-1 counter-battery radar in the sights of the Shark drone, May 2024. Photo credits: Come Back Alive Foundation}

The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a Russian Zoopark-1 counter-battery radar system in the Donetsk region.

The press service of the Come Back Alive Foundation reported on this.

An aerial reconnaissance unit detected a Russian Zoopark-1 radar station using a Shark reconnaissance drone purchased by the Foundation.

After identifying the target, the unit transmitted the coordinates of the detected object to the operators of the HIMARS rocket system, which delivered an accurate strike and destroyed the radar station with a GMLRS guided missile.

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Ukrainian military intelligence claims knowledge of Putin's multiple bunkers' locations
Ukrainian intel representative Andriy Yusov stated that his agency has information about Putin's bunkers, which is regularly updated

Ukrainian military intelligence knows about the location of more than one bunker of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, announced on the air of the national telethon.

Asked about where Putin's bunker is located, Yusov corrected her, saying "bunkers." He added that intelligence has relevant information and it is regularly updated.

The representative of DIU refused to name the number of bunkers of the Kremlin dictator, noting only: "One of his 'callsigns' is bunkerny". He loves this business very much."

A number of Russian and Western media have been speculating about the bunkers of the Russian dictator for a long time. Last year, The Business Insider published drawings of the underground part of Putin's huge estate in Gelendzhik. On the diagrams one can see an underground complex under the palace, consisting of two separate tunnels connected by an elevator that descends approximately 50 m underground.

^{Scheme of tunnels under Putin's palace (Photo: Business Insider)}

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Another provocation? Russian border guards removed markers from Estonian waters
On Thursday, May 23, Russian border guards removed 24 buoys from the Narva River, which Estonia's Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) had installed to mark shipping lanes. These buoys helped prevent ships from straying into the wrong waters and have been a longstanding feature of the river, writes Delfi news portal.

Eerik Purgel, head of the PPA's Eastern Prefecture, stated that Russia has not provided an explanation for their action. The PPA plans to seek clarification from Russia and expects evidence if Russia believes the shipping route has changed. If no such evidence is provided, Estonia will continue to install the buoys.

The Estonian government, including Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, is seeking to understand the situation. They intend to handle the matter calmly and consult with allies, noting that this fits a pattern of provocative Russian behavior, which includes previous airspace violations. The government emphasizes the importance of these markers for safe navigation, especially for local fishermen and hobbyists, to prevent accidental entry into Russian waters.

Estonia's Interior Minister, Lauri Läänemets, addressed a recent incident on social media. Läänemets described the event as another attempt to influence Estonia's internal security. He wrote that such systematic actions are meant to shape public sentiment and create a foundation for conflicts. Estonia does not share Russia's geopolitical vision and expects such attempts to continue.
He urged not to fall into the trap of fear and confusion that these actions aim to create, as Estonia is familiar with this pattern from its eastern neighbor.

Läänemets assured that Estonia maintains a high level of security and the state is always ready to take preventive and responsive measures. He emphasized that internal security is an ongoing concern, with the country actively countering threats and influence activities.
He concluded by stating that budget cuts should not reduce national defense or internal security capabilities. Instead, Estonia, and Europe as a whole, should be prepared to increase resources for law enforcement agencies if necessary.

Estonia had placed these markers according to an agreement with Russia in 2022. However, this year, Russia has contested the placement of about 125 of the 250 buoys. The removal included some of the disputed markers.

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Explosives were found near a NATO oil pipeline in Germany
This week, explosives were discovered near an oil pipeline in Germany. Source: Suedeutsche Zeitung

Construction workers have found an explosives cache near a NATO pipeline in Rhineland-Palatinate - it is unclear who created it. German and European security authorities have long warned that Russia is not shying away from sabotage.

The small town of Belheim with a population of 9 thousand inhabitants is located between Landau, Speyer and Karlsruhe. The area is traversed by half-timbered streets, parks, two church towers, and the Via Renana, an old Roman road along the Upper Rhine. There is nothing to indicate that this place may have military-strategic significance, the newspaper writes.

But one of the largest NATO oil depots in Germany is located in Belheim. It's also home to the Central European Pipeline System (CEPS), which, as part of the so-called NATO pipeline, has supplied air force bases in western Germany with kerosene, gasoline and diesel since the Cold War. In an emergency, the pipes will be of strategic importance.

Let us recall that across Europe there is an active sabotage campaign organized by Russia as part of President Vladimir Putin’s growing efforts to undermine Western support for Ukraine. American and European officials have reported attempts to damage railroads, military bases and other facilities used to supply weapons to Ukraine.

German law enforcement authorities suspect the Russian intelligence services of an attack on railways, as a result of which trains stopped in northern Germany for several hours.

Also, unknown persons in northern Germany damaged a gas pipeline under construction for an LNG terminal.

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Bulgarian Prosecutor Seeks Closure Of 2 Pro-Russian Paramilitary Groups

^{Pro-Russian demonstrators hold a rally in Sofia in May 2023.}

Two pro-Russian paramilitary organizations operating in Bulgaria should be closed because their activities violate the constitution, a district prosecutor’s office said on May 22.

The request to shut down BNO Shipka and the Vasil Levski Military Union was submitted to the district court in Varna by the local prosecutor’s office. The court is expected to schedule a hearing to consider the request.

The two paramilitary organizations are connected to one another and known for their pro-Russian rhetoric. They have been conducting combat training for years and oppose Bulgaria’s Euro-Atlantic affiliations, including its membership in the European Union and in NATO.

The request comes a year and a half after the state prosecutor’s office announced that it was investigating BNO Shipka for sedition.

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Alarm over Russian-directed sabotage operations growing across Europe
Security agencies and governments across Europe are increasingly warning about the threat posed by Russia-directed saboteurs operating on their territories.

On Wednesday, Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) and the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) warned there was an increased threat of sabotage targeting organizations in the country involved in delivering arms to Ukraine.

Inger Haugland, Norway’s counterintelligence chief, told the media how attempts at sabotage in Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom were conducted by non-Russian nationals to provide the Kremlin with deniability.

Haugland said the PST had warned Norwegian arms suppliers to be on alert for suspicious activity, as reported by the country’s national broadcaster NRK. Earlier this month, the head of the PST warned that Russia was preparing acts of sabotage in the west of the country where its naval bases and oil and gas facilities are based.

The pair of warnings follows Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre describing Russia as posing “a real and serious threat” to the country’s oil and gas industry, following the arrests of seven Russians in Norway in connection to incidents in which drones were flown over major energy installations.

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More than 60 killed and 160 injured: Russian missile spotter sentenced to 15 years in prison
The man was found guilty of treason, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine reported


A court has found a Lviv resident guilty of directing Russian missiles at the Yavoriv military base in March 2022, resulting in the deaths of over 60 people, the Prosecutor General's Office reported, with a law enforcement source telling LIGA.net that the convicted man's name is Oleksandr Kostornyi.

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The 73-year-old resident of Lviv was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 15 years in prison and confiscation of property.

Prosecutors proved in court that the man, a former KGB officer of the USSR, had been collaborating with agents of the aggressor country's Federal Security Service (FSB) since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He collected information on the location of military facilities, weapons and critical infrastructure in the Lviv Oblast.

According to the investigation, the convict sent the enemy a map of the Yavoriv military training area via Telegram. The map depicted the locations of military camps at the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security. The perpetrator also indicated the locations of barracks and dormitories.

On March 13, 2022, the occupiers shelled these facilities, firing a total of more than 30 missiles. The attack resulted in more than 60 deaths and 160 injuries.

The Prosecutor General's Office noted that during the court session, the spotter did not admit his guilt and showed no remorse.

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Ukrainian intelligence attacks Russian military-industrial complex targets in Tatarstan - Sources
Drones of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine struck several targets of the Russian military-industrial complex in Tatarstan, according to intelligence sources.

It is noted that the strike drones have already reached Kazan and Nizhnekamsk, where several strategically important enterprises, whose products are used in the military industry, are located.

Local media reported explosions in Nizhnekamsk. In addition, employees are being evacuated from Nizhnekamsk Thermal Power Plant, Nizhnekamsk Carbon, Orgsintez, Taneco, TAIF-NK, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, and "Nizhnekamskshina.

^{Photo: Evacuation of Russians (t.me/astrapress)}

Additionally, both airports in Kazan and Nizhnekamsk have ceased operations. Sources reported that information about the results of the strikes on the targets is being clarified.

Other GUR operations
This is not the first time the Main Intelligence Directorate has carried out operations targeting enemy facilities related to the Russian defense complex.

For instance, it was reported that today, GUR drones attacked a Russian military unit located in the Krasnodar region.

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US will announce $275 million more in artillery and ammunition for Ukraine, officials say
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is expected to announce an additional $275 million in military aid for Ukraine on Friday as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, two U.S. officials say.

This will be the fourth installment of military aid for Ukraine since Congress passed a long-delayed foreign aid bill late last month and comes as the Biden administration has pledged to keep weapons flowing regularly and to get them to the front lines as quickly as possible.

The package includes high mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, munitions as well 155 mm and 105 mm high-demand artillery rounds, according to the two U.S. officials. Additional items in the aid package include Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems; anti-tank mines, tactical vehicles, small arms and ammunition for those weapons, one of the officials said. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details of the aid package before the public announcement.

It follows a monthly gathering Monday of about 50 defense leaders from Europe and elsewhere who meet regularly to coordinate getting more military aid to Ukraine. At this latest meeting, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine was in a “moment of challenge” due to Russia’s new onslaught on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. He pledged to keep weapons moving “week after week.”

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Op donderdag 23 mei 2024 22:17 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

[..]
Als je die troep mag geloven is het een wonder dat ze nog niet in Moskou staan.

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Op donderdag 23 mei 2024 22:13 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Wordt toch wel echt tijd hoor dat Oekraïne gaat winnen aan de X posts te zien. Maar het zit er nog niet echt in.

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NATO to fund equipment for five rehabilitation hospitals in Ukraine

Five rehabilitation hospitals are to be equipped in Ukraine with the financial support of the North Atlantic Alliance.

Natalia Kalmykova, Deputy Minister of Defense, announced this during a roundtable discussion titled “Successes and Challenges of Rehabilitation of Military in Ukraine – Search for Solutions.”

“Under the Recovery program, we plan to finance and provide the necessary equipment to 5 rehabilitation hospitals of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Repair works are already underway at one of the hospitals in the Kyiv region,” Kalmykova said.

Kalmykova also said that two more hospitals in Kyiv and Vinnytsia regions are currently being repaired with donor funds.

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A man too much like Prigozhin has been spotted in Africa

Suspiciously similar to the deceased Prigozhin man spotted in Africa. The video was published by the PMC “Wagner” itself.

An unknown man with characteristic behavior, gesticulation, gait and general appearance resembles Yevgeny Prigozhin.

“Wagner Group” is still operating and is actively recruiting volunteers for the “distant direction”. Meaning Africa.

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Op donderdag 23 mei 2024 22:34 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:
Was al gepost zie ik nu
[..]

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Ukrainian troops destroyed the Russian invaders with tanks near Bilohorivka

The defenders of Bilohorivka neutralized a group of Russian soldiers and destroyed several tanks.

Ukrainian paratroopers from the 81st Airmobile Brigade conducted combat operations.

Various types of drones were used to destroy tanks.

The Russian T-64BV tank was destroyed with the help of FPV drones equipped with armor-piercing ammunition.

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Drones Target Russian Voronezh-DM Radar in Krasnodar Krai

^{The unfinished Voronezh-DM radar. Photo credits: Russian media}

Drones attacked the Russian Voronezh-DM early-warning radar in the Krasnodar Krai.

This was reported by Russian media.

The strike targeted the territory of the 818th Separate Radio Engineering Center, located near the village of Gluboky.

There are two antenna arrays in the decimeter range from the composition of the Voronezh-DM over-the-horizon radar.

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Man who shot Fico cites policy towards Ukraine as motivation for assassination attempt
The man charged with shooting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico cited his country's policy towards Ukraine as a motivation for the attempted assassination, Slovak media reported on May 23.

Fico, 59, was shot in an assassination attempt as he walked out of a government meeting in the town of Handlova on May 15. The attack left the leader in serious condition, and he has since undergone two surgeries. Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok described the shooting as "politically motivated."

The shooter, Juraj Cintula, is a 71-year-old writer and political activist. According to court documents cited by media, Cintula said he had no intention of murdering Fico but instead wanted to "harm his health." He also reportedly told investigators that nobody else knew of his plans to target Fico.

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Translation: Just for lols. We are sitting here, waiting for enemy, all of us. And here this shit is driving. Its about defensive lines, blyat'. For real, is cropping field. Dude is immortal. Explosive shit is falling from skies, and he is cropping field. This is Kharkiv region, baby. Guys have woke up in dugouts, they thought its enemy tank. God, such character.

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Op vrijdag 24 mei 2024 00:24 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

[..]
Ja prigho was nog 'maar'800 kilometer van Moskou verwijderd toen zijn wagner troepen door de luchtmacht werden gedecimeerd.

Net zoals die recentelijke aanval van het Russische "vrijheidsleger".

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Op vrijdag 24 mei 2024 00:32 schreef MaxMark het volgende:
Geen lijstjes meer? Geen idee wat er is gebeurd, klinkt een beetje drama queen-achtig
[ x ]

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Op vrijdag 24 mei 2024 00:44 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

[..]
Juistem. Misschien moet je nog wat links dumpen waardoor de oorlog, ondanks terreinverlies, als een trein lijkt te verlopen.

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Russian forces may have seized first Estonian ground robot in Ukraine

^{Milrem Robotics' TheMIS vehicle clears a course during robotics trials outside Tallinn, Estonia, in late June 2023. (Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo/Staff)}

MILAN — Two years after a Russian defense industry think tank announced a cash reward for the seizure of an Estonian-made unmanned ground vehicle operating in Ukraine, Russian forces appear to have captured one of the robots, according to analysts and photos posted on social media.

Earlier this month, Russian Telegram channels published pictures of what they claimed showed a badly damaged model of the THeMIS vehicle, made by Estonia-based and United Arab Emirates-owned Milrem Robotics.

A Milrem spokesman declined to comment, saying only that the company is aware of the images.

Federico Borsari, a fellow at the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis think tank, told Defense News the pictured vehicle “very much resembles” the THeMIS model. “There is also a visible part of the printed Ukrainian flag on the upper right front corner, confirming this was one of the systems provided to Kyiv.”

The Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) said in 2022 that any military personnel capable of capturing a THeMIS robot would get one million rubles, or roughly $11,000.

In February of this year, the reward was upped to two million rubles, or almost $22,000, according to a statement given by the center’s director, Ruslan Pukhov, to Russian media.

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Partisans: Attack on occupied Crimea damages communications equipment, casualties reported
A missile attack on a Russian communications hub in the city of Alushta in occupied Crimea has caused "significant damage to equipment," with numerous casualties reported, the pro-Ukrainian partisan group Atesh reported on May 24.

The Crimean Wind telegram channel further reported that a large military antenna was struck in the community of Semydviria, just 3 kilometers east of Alushta. The antenna was previously used by Ukraine's military prior to Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014.

Atesh also reported that the command center of the communications hub may have been destroyed in the attack, although no information is currently available on the status of the military facility.

Ukraine's Armed Forces have yet to take responsibility for the attack, nor have they provided comment.

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Mysterious shooting outside Army Special Forces residence in North Carolina raises questions
Chechen power company subcontractor found shot in North Carolina near Army colonel’s home

A mysterious shooting in North Carolina north of Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, not far from where some of America’s most elite U.S. Special Operations forces live and train is under investigation by the Army Criminal Investigation Division as well as local police. The shooting in Carthage, North Carolina occurred May 3 at 8:15 p.m. following a phone call about a suspected trespasser near a Special Forces soldier's property.

Two Chechen men who spoke broken English were found near the soldier's home. The family alleges the suspected intruder, 35-year-old Ramzan Daraev of Chicago was taking photos of their children. When confronted near a power line in a wooded part of the property, an altercation ensued and Daraev was shot several times at close range. A second man, Dzhankutov Adsalan, was in a vehicle some distance from the incident and was questioned by authorities and then released. The Moore County Sheriff's office is leading the investigation.

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Russia, in New Push, Increasingly Disrupts Ukraine’s Starlink Service
Russia has deployed advanced tech to interfere with Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Ukrainian officials said, leading to more outages on the northern front battle line.

^{Members of the Achilles Drone battalion of Ukraine’s 92nd Assault Brigade in Kharkiv, Ukraine. They depend on Starlink service for communications and to conduct drone strikes.Credit...Sasha Maslov for The New York Times}

Just before Russian troops pushed across the Ukrainian northern border this month, members of Ukraine’s 92nd Assault Brigade lost a vital resource. Starlink satellite internet service, which soldiers use to communicate, collect intelligence and conduct drone attacks, had slowed to a crawl.

Operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink has been critical to the Ukrainian military since the earliest days of the war with Russia. Without the full service, Ukrainian soldiers said, they couldn’t quickly communicate and share information about the surprise onslaught and resorted to sending text messages. Their experiences were repeated across the new northern front line, according to Ukrainian soldiers, officials and electronics warfare experts.

At the heart of the outages: increased interference from Russia.

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CNN's Matthew Chance looks at the increasing appearances of Tucker Carlson on Russian state TV as the Kremlin sees propaganda value in the former Fox News anchor.

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Rosneft asks Kremlin to compensate for costs of protecting oil refineries from drones
The CEO of Russia's state-controlled oil company, Rosneft, sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin asking the Kremlin to approve tax breaks to offset the cost of preventing drone attacks on the company's oil refineries, Russian state-controlled media reported on May 23.

In recent months, Ukrainian forces have launched a series of drone strikes aimed at damaging Russia's oil industry, which is crucial to sustaining Moscow's war efforts, as well as its military hardware.

More than a dozen oil refineries have been reportedly hit. Earlier this week, on May 20, Russian media claimed that a refinery in the Russian town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban was damaged following an overnight drone strike.

In the wake of such attacks, many refineries have been forced to suspend operations, leading to a drop in fuel supplies.

In the letter, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly asked the Kremlin to "provide tax benefits to offset the costs of drone attacks on oil refineries in the Russian Federation."

Sechin writes that due to the increase in "terrorist risks," the company has been forced to implement a wide and costly set of measures to physically protect oil facilities from drones.

The CEO said the company suspended operations at the Syzran, Ryazan, Kuibyshev, and Tuapse refineries due to drone strikes. Sechin proposed compensating the company for security costs through deductions from the mineral extraction tax or income tax and increasing the reverse excise tax on oil.

He also noted that Western sanctions have undermined efforts to modernize the refineries, limiting the supply of equipment and increasing the cost of logistics and construction work.

Earlier this month, Politico reported that Ukrainian drone strikes were successful in putting pressure on Russia's fuel supplies, causing gasoline and diesel prices to surge for Russian consumers.

Energy exports have long been a key source of Moscow's revenue and have helped to sustain its ongoing war against Ukraine.

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Putin arrives in neighboring Belarus for a two-day visit with a key ally
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday evening arrived in Belarus for a two-day visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Thursday in Belarus for a two-day visit as part of several foreign tours to kick off his fifth term in office, underscoring close ties with a neighboring ally that has been instrumental in Russia's war effort in Ukraine.

Putin traveled to China earlier this month, and is expected in Uzbekistan on Sunday. Earlier on Thursday, the Russian president hosted Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in the Kremlin.

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