Chaos at the Kremlin: Isolated Putin detains senior FSB security chiefs while third Russian general is killed in Ukraine March 13, 2022 Two senior officers in the Russian security service, the FSB, have been put under house arrest by President Vladimir Putin, according to a report this weekend. Andrei Soldatov, of the investigative website Agentura, reported that Sergei Beseda, the head of the Fifth Service – the FSB’s foreign intelligence branch – and his deputy have been [...]
Justice secretary heads to Europe’s top court to aid Russian war crimes probe March 13, 2022 The UK’s justice secretary is set to visit Europe’s top court to help with the investigation into Russian war crimes during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Prime minister Boris Johnson accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of indiscriminately “sending missiles into tower blocks to kill children” at the beginning of the month, prior to the destruction [...]
Rishi Sunak preparing more help for families facing rising energy bills March 13, 2022 Rishi Sunak is reportedly drawing up plans to provide more financial help to families facing further increases in energy bills in the wake of the Russo-Ukraine war. The chancellor is expected to outline details of a two-stage intervention to ease the cost of living crisis during his spring statement on 23 March, according to the [...]
PM received £7,150 in gifts from Russian friend Lebedev as Mi6 raised security concerns March 13, 2022 Boris Johnson received £7,150 in gifts while he was London mayor from media mogul Lord Evgeny Lebedev at the same time Mi6 was raising security concerns about the Russian-British dual national, it has been revealed. Documents show Johnson received gifts like private jet flights to visit Lebedev’s Italian villa, chaffeur-driven cars and dinners in London [...]
UK firms welcome Ukranian refugees with offer of 10,000 jobs March 13, 2022 British businesses including Marks & Spencer are calling on government to welcome Ukranian refugees fleeing war in Russia.
Leading Rabbi arrested amid probe into Roman Abramovich’s Portuguese citizenship March 12, 2022 Portuguese authorities have arrested a leading Rabbi and banned him from leaving the country, amid an investigation into the decision to give sanctioned Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, Portuguese citizenship, based on his supposed links to the country’s Jewish community. Police arrested Porto Rabbi Daniel Litvak in Portugal’s second largest city, amid claims he issued the [...]
Russian troops abducted Ukrainian mayor after capturing city of Melitopol March 12, 2022 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian troops of kidnapping the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, after he refused to cooperate with their demands. In a video briefing, Zelensky said: “Today in Melitopol the invaders captured mayor of the city, Ivan Federov – a mayor who courageously defends Ukraine and the people of [...]
Seizing companies’ assets would take Russia back to Bolshevik revolution, Putin ally says March 12, 2022 Russian mining billionaire Vladimir Potanin has warned Putin against seizing control of assets owned by the foreign firms that have exited Russia, after arguing that doing so would drag Russia back to the time of the Bolshevik revolution. Multi-billionaire mining magnate Potanin, who in 2018 appeared on the US Treasury’s list of 210 individuals with [...]
£24bn Brexit rebound: UK goods imports from EU overtake non-EU trade while Russian influx soars March 12, 2022 Goods imports from the EU rebounded fat the start of 2022, despite uncertainty over changes in HMRC methodology, to overtake Non-EU countries, after non-EU imports of goods to the UK surpassed those from the EU for the first time in 2021 since the ONS started recording the data in 1997. Over £24bn worth of goods [...]
US law firm Squire Patton Boggs drops Russia’s Gazprombank as client March 12, 2022 US law firm Squire Patton Boggs has dropped Russia’s Gazprombank as a client, after closing its Moscow offices. Squire Patton Boggs’ decision to exit its relationship with Russia’s third largest bank comes after the US law firm was hired by Gazprombank in 2014 to lobby against US sanctions, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Gazprombank’s relationship [...]