In Russia proposed to create a ministry of propaganda
The head of the State Duma Committee on Social Policy (LDPR), Yaroslav Nilov, said that in Russia need to create the Ministry of Propaganda, which will deal with rumors and regulate the flow of information to the public. As an example, the deputy cited a discussion in the media of forest arsonists. In his opinion, such messages provoke people with an unstable psyche to such behavior. Nilov explained that the task of the department is not to deceive citizens, but “to resist those information waves that cause damage.”
Fortum to write off its Russian assets for €1.7 billion
Finnish energy company Fortum decided to write off its Russian assets worth €1.7 billion, which came under the control of the Federal Property Management Agency. In addition, a decision was made to deconsolidate the Russian segment. It is noted that the assets will be fully written off in Fortum’s financial statements for the second quarter of 2023. Fortum President Markus Rauramo said that the total investment in Russia is about €6 billion, including the initial purchase of shares and investments.
In Russia, 116 natural fires were put out in a day
The Aviation Forest Protection of the Russian Federation reported that the forest fire services put out in a day in Russia there are 116 natural fires on an area of 46.335 hectares. It is noted that the fires were eliminated in 22 regions of the country. By Thursday midnight, 108 forest fires were recorded in Russia on an area of 95.133 hectares, they were actively extinguished. The largest area of fires is in the Sverdlovsk region. There are 57 fires in the region on an area of 75.658 hectares.
The State Duma proposed to toughen the responsibility for the use of unregistered UAVs
Russia should to tighten as much as possible control and punishment for the importation, use and sale of unregistered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This was stated by a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Nemkin. In addition, members of the lower house of parliament will hold consultations to determine how many IT specialists are currently needed to develop equipment for drones, and propose solutions for modernizing industry regulation, as well as adapting educational programs to accelerate training.
Bloomberg: Ukraine received more than 200 tanks and 300 infantry fighting vehicles from the West
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) received more than 200 tanks and 300 infantry fighting vehicles from Western countries in preparation for counteroffensive. According to media reports, the current number of Ukrainian troops is 700 thousand people. It is noted that some of the units are equipped with Soviet weapons provided by the states – former members of the Warsaw Pact, and the other part – with NATO military equipment.
Zelensky said that Ukraine is not ready for a counteroffensive
The Armed Forces of Ukraine need a little more time to prepare for the previously announced counter-offensive. This was stated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. He said that Kyiv could start attacking with what it had. According to him, in this case, Ukraine will lose a lot of people. Zelensky believes this is unacceptable. The Ukrainian leader noted that Kyiv would have to wait a bit. He explained that although the brigades formed for the offensive are already fully prepared, the troops are still lack “in some things.”
Czech Republic wants to reduce dependence on oil supplies via Druzhba
The Czech authorities are going to increase the capacity of the TAL transalpine oil pipeline in 2024 in order to reduce addiction from the supply of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. This was stated by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. According to him, the Czech pipeline operator Mero has agreed with the shareholders of the TAL consortium on a project to expand the Transalpine oil pipeline. An agreement to this effect should be signed this month, Fiala added.
