The Kremlin has approved the sale of Rinat Akhmetov’s former coal properties
Ukraine’s richest man to lose assets in Russia
A Russian conglomerate will be allowed to buy out the coal-mining companies previously owned by Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, the Kremlin confirmed on Thursday. President Vladimir Putin approved the sale in line with the standing anti-sanctions measures.
The joint stock company ‘Best Solution’ will acquire 100% of the shares of Don Anthracite and Obukhovsky Mine Management, located in the Rostov Region, from the Cyprus-based Fabcell Limited.
Putin signed off on the sale under his August 2022 decree on “applying special economic measures in the financial, fuel and energy sectors in connection with the unfriendly actions of certain foreign states and international organizations.”
Akhmetov’s energy holding company DTEK originally bought the two enterprises in 2012, for $39 million. By 2021, however, DTEK announced that it would be selling them to pay off the debts it owed Sberbank. According to the Russian outlet Kommersant, Don Anthracite and Obukhovsky Mine Management were sold in August 2021 to the Cyprus-based Valleyton Investments for $230 million, while their outstanding debt was estimated at almost $447 million......more below
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
