Mar 15: Kremlin File's Week in Review
Top stories for the week of March 11, 2024
Hey guys, the new episode of Kremlin File’s Week in Review is out. It covers the most impactful Russian-related news stories affecting Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. Delve into the headlines often overlooked, which shed light on Russia's aggressions, intelligence activities, assassinations, espionage, and beyond.
Don't miss out on the latest edition of Kremlin File's Week in Review, airing every Saturday!
Here is the link to listen to KF Week in Review. You can also listen to it on your preferred podcast platform.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Kremlin File YouTube channel
Show Notes:
Ukraine has launched drone attacks on at least three oil refineries deep inside Russia, as Kyiv intensifies its cross-border strikes days before President Vladimir Putin’s anticipated re-election. A Ukrainian defense source told CNN on Wednesday that Ukraine is “implementing a well-planned strategy to decrease Russian economic potential.”
It struck three Russian oil refineries targeted in the cities of Ryazan, about 130 miles southeast of Moscow; Kstovo, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, nearly 300 miles east of the capital; and Kirishi in Russia’s northwest. The trio of facilities are among Russia’s largest refineries, the source said. Via CNN
Denmark is to provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth about DKK 2.3 billion (about US$336.6 million). The White House will provide $300 million in additional weapons to Ukraine, officials announced Tuesday, as more funding remains held up in Congress by Republican leaders. Via NBC News and Ukrainian Pravda
European NATO countries are ready to spend almost $500 billion on defense - four times more than Russia. Via Moscow Times Russian edition
An American company that paid the now-indicted FBI informant Alexander Smirnov in 2020 is connected to a UK company owned by Trump business associates in Dubai. Back in 2020, Smirnov was paid $600,000 by a company called Educational Transformation Technologies (ETT), prosecutors said. That same year, Smirnov began lying to the FBI about the Bidens. Via The Guardian
Austria had expelled two Russian diplomats over actions "incompatible with their diplomatic status," the Heute newspaper reported on March 13, citing the Austrian Foreign Ministry. Via Kyiv Independent
European companies have supplied over $630 million worth of equipment according to the current exchange rate to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project since the invasion of Ukraine despite it being under Western sanctions, The Moscow Times’ Russian service and the Arctida NGO reported Tuesday in a joint investigation. Via Moscow Times
In a sociopathic rant, Medvedev proposed a “peace formula” on social media and said “former” Ukraine doesn’t exist and laid out several points including Ukraine as a country having no recognition in any international bodies, such as the UN.
Following its ostracism from the community of civilized nations, Russia is forging closer ties with fellow outcast states including Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and North Korea. It is also cozying up to non-state actors best known for terrorist activities. Take, for example, Lebanese Hezbollah, which supplies Russia with recruits for the Ukrainian conflict while receiving in return the opportunity to procure modern weaponry, including missiles for its attacks against Israel. Via The Insider
Vice President of Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, Vitaly Robertus died at the age of 53, according to a company press release. Robertus was found dead in his Moscow office on Tuesday in an apparent suicide, according to local reports. This is like the 50th death of high-level businessmen or government officials since the full-scale invasion. Via Newsweek
China, Iran, and Russia have begun joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman. More than 20 ships, support vessels, and combat boats from the three countries, as well as naval helicopters, are involved in the exercise. Via AP News
Disney cut the awarding of Ukraine's "20 Days in Mariupol" for Best Documentary from the international Oscars broadcast Ukraine's broadcaster Ukraine’s National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting has written a letter to the management of The Walt Disney Company asking them to create a new international version of the Oscars ceremony broadcast that includes the presentation of the award for the Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol. Via Ukrainian Pravda
Link to 20 Days in Mariupol:
Russian Oligarch Gennadi Timshenko has been in the headlines of the Finnish media in recent days due to his dual citizenship and his private army. Helsingin Sanomat reported on Monday that the Ministry of the Interior intends to find out how the citizenship applications of the entire Timshenko family were processed in Finland. Timo Heinonen submitted a written question on the subject on Wednesday, in which he asks whether the government is ready to take measures so that dual citizens who have committed war crimes and other criminal activities in other countries could also lose their Finnish citizenship. Via Ilta Sanomat
The US Treasury warned Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International it risked "being cut off from the US financial system" if it was helping to fund Russia's military. Apparently, OTP Bank of Hungary is under a similar risk. Via EU Observer
Pope Francis making holy waves: Pope Francis gave an interview to a Swiss outlet and its main points were pre-released on Saturday causing waves of indignation because he said that Ukraine should call it a day and surrender. This is not surprising, even if upsetting and incomprehensible, because the Vatican is an institution and we keep forgetting that. They believe that any ongoing war is just a ripple in over 2000 years of history. Via Reuters
Viktor Orban comments on his conversation with Trump. The US will stop aid and so will Europe and that will be the end of the war.
“He will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end,” the Hungarian premier told state television on Sunday evening. “As it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet.” “If the Americans do not give money and weapons, and also the Europeans, then this war will be over. And if the Americans do not give money the Europeans are unable to finance this war on their own, and then the war will end.” Via ABC News