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Alexander St. Leger

@alexstleger.bsky.social
316 followers 215 following 84 posts

Analyst. ex-FDD, C4ADS, Fulbright in 🇲🇩/🇷🇴. Ohio State alum. Eyes on Moldova, Transnistria, geoecon. Иногда на русском. // Opinions mine.

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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
New detail from Verstka on Ilan Shor's cross border transactions vehicle. A7 reported ₽3.6 billion in revenue after September 2024, but it handled ₽292 billion in transactions, predominantly debt securities. Translation? Shor is moving a sizeable amount of cash. verstka.media/moldavskij-oli…
verstka.media
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Latvia's FIU allowed Peter Aven to transfer €235 million from an unnamed, unsanctioned Central Asian bank to his frozen bank account in Latvia. Aven hopes that with his Russian assets sold off, he'll be removed from the EU sanctions regime. www.moscowtimes.ru/2025/03/31/p...
moscowtimes.ru
Пётр Авен переводит в Латвию 235 млн евро для снятия санкций - Русская служба The Moscow Times
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Mercedes Sapuppo @mercedessapuppo.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
The admin’s decision to shutter media incl. VOA greatly erodes press freedom & information access, undermining democracy & freedom in the US & across the globe - a disastrous gift to repressive, autocratic regimes. My @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social piece - www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrain...
atlanticcouncil.org
Silencing Voice of America will only strengthen autocrats around the world
United States President Donald Trump's decision to shut down US-funded media outlets including Voice of America will boost authoritarian regimes around the world, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
NEW: My latest at FDD. General License 8 was a mistake and President Trump was right to let it die. Now, it's time to comprehensively sanction the remaining shadow fleet tankers and aggressively wield secondary sanctions against price cap violators. www.fdd.org/analysis/pol...
fdd.org
With Lapsing Sanctions Waiver, Trump Tightens the Vise on Russian Energy
The Trump administration landed a quiet but forceful blow against Russian energy exports last week. On March 12, the U.S. Treasury Department let a Biden-era sanctions waiver lapse, effectively prohib...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Really liked this read from Politico’s @gabrielgavin.bsky.social “There’s no EU consensus on when it might relax sanctions, no matter what Trump offers the Russians. Now, Russia's neighbors are saying it's time to lay out red lines.” www.politico.eu/article/dona...
politico.eu
Trump will make — or break — Europe’s Russia sanctions
Western allies are worried the U.S. president could go either way on decisions that will ripple across the Atlantic.
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Fabian Hoffmann, PhD @frhoffmann.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Rheinmetall is looking to build solid-fuel motors for missiles with a range of up to 2,000 km. Big for Europe's missile industry if true and a major step in the direction of setting up a European production line for short and medium-range ballistic missiles. 1/2 www.hartpunkt.de/rheinmetall-...
hartpunkt.de
Rheinmetall will große Raketenmotoren und Satelliten bauen
Der Düsseldorfer Rüstungskonzern Rheinmetall hat schon im vergangenen Jahr den Aufbau einer Raketenmotorproduktion in Deutschland angekündigt.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
File under “Not Great”: A consortium led by BIS Entity-Listed China Communications Construction Company will build a Black Sea port in Anaklia, Georgia. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/w...
nytimes.com
Plans for a Chinese Port in the Black Sea Roil Georgia Politics
Georgia’s government sparked an uproar by announcing that a port project on the Black Sea will be awarded to a company from China after canceling a contract with a consortium that included Western fir...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
An internal report from Evraz, a steel firm in which R. Abramovich holds a 30% stake, found that employees at their Oregon plant bypassed safety tests for armored vehicles. Why an Abramovich-owned firm is allowed to operate in the US at all is beyond me. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Armor Plates for US Army Vehicles Never Passed Required Test
An internal probe by Evraz North America found that employees at a Russian-owned steel plant in Oregon sometimes bypassed a key test meant to ensure that armor for one of the Army’s most commonly used...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Is Twitter back down for anyone else? Is this outage #3 of the day?
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
Something many of us expected — Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau denied Georgescu from registering for May’s presidential election. Protests ongoing. Barring a highly unlikely reversal, Georgescu won’t be allowed on the ballot in May. hotnews.ro/breaking-can...
hotnews.ro
BREAKING Candidatura lui Călin Georgescu, respinsă de Biroul Electoral Central / Violențe în fața BEC, jandarmii au folosit gaze lacrimogene. O parte din protestatari s-au urcat pe ziduri - VIDEO - Ho...
Biroul Electroral Central a invalidat candidatura lui Călin Georgescu. Potrivit unor surse politice, respingerea candidaturii a fost votată de zece din cei 14
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
If the President decides to ratchet up sanctions on Russia, he should first target energy revenues as well as industrial wholesalers that supply Russia’s military industrial complex. Limiting Moscow’s revenue + exponentially increasing input prices will tighten the vice.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
(Full) sanctions relief now could mean: -Huge boost in energy revenues -Rush to stockpile industrial inputs like ball bearings, chips, CNCs -Plunge in interest rates that facilitate defense-industrial capital access Under those conditions, Moscow could fully rearm in 2-3 years.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Interesting — one of the local heads of PSD in Costanta, Ion Dumitrache, was implicated in a corruption investigation alleging he rigged millions in state contracts to boost the Midia Shipyard, which he controls. m.digi24.ro/stiri/actual...
m.digi24.ro
Politician cu succes în afaceri. Cine este Ion Dumitrache, liderul PSD implicat în cazul de corupție din Portul Constanța
Numele lui Ion Dumitrache, politician și om de afaceri influent în Constanța, apare frecvent în dosarul de corupție de la Portul Constanța, anchetat în prezent de procurorii Direcției Naționale Antico...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Poignant: “You can measure this war in what people were forced to leave behind: a rose garden abandoned in Melitopol; a stuffed animal forgotten on the outskirts of Mariupol; the blue velvet balls hung on the tree every New Year’s holiday, stored in a box in Berdiansk. All gone.” t.co/yKEZVkvR6X
t.co
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/world/europe/ukraine-prisoner-of-war.html
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
NEW: My first policy brief at FDD, alongside my colleague Max Meizlish: If South Africa continues to court Russian and Iranian nuclear cooperation, the U.S. should immediately suspend ratification of its' Section 123 agreement with Pretoria and impose sanctions. www.fdd.org/analysis/pol...
fdd.org
Risking Sanctions, South Africa Welcomes Nuclear Cooperation with Russia and Iran
South Africa is on a collision course with President Donald Trump. On February 17, Pretoria’s minister of mineral and petroleum resources, Gwede Mantashe, signaled his government’s openness to nuclea...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Per NYT, the U.S. is exploring a deal in which the U.S. would relax sanctions on Belarusian banks and potash exports in exchange for the release of political prisoners. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/w...
nytimes.com
A Quick, Quiet Trip to Belarus Signals a Turn in U.S. Policy
After years of the U.S. trying to isolate Russia’s closest ally, a meeting with Belarus’s president points to better relations, raising hopes of loosening his repression and his embrace of Moscow.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
After multiple Shahed drones fell on Moldova during strikes on Odesa overnight, the Moldovan MFA summoned the Russian Ambassador. This is how he was greeted:
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Nicki Kenyon @nickikenyon.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Existing networks are being reconfigured, selling entities, tankers, and insurance providers that are not sanctioned. Some are existing outfits that haven't been sanctioned, while others are replacing designated ones. finance.yahoo.com/news/india-b...
finance.yahoo.com
India Is Building a Sanctions-Proof Supply Chain for Russian Oil
(Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here.Most Read from BloombergSaudi Arabia’s Neom Si...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Some really remarkable photos of Tiraspol mid-energy crisis, published by Zona de Securitate. 3rd: Tiraspol’s Elektromash plant, which allegedly continues to run. 4th: Sheriff HQ is dark. Not that anyone was working in the building anyways.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
After Duma speaker Volodin said recipients of USAID money in Russia should “confess and repent” publicly. Both Defense Minister Belousov and United Russia received USAID money at different points during the 2000s, per Agentsvo. www.agents.media/kogo-volodin...
agents.media
Кого Володин призвал покаяться на Красной площади: Белоусов, «Единая Россия» и «Молодая гвардия» в прошлом получали деньги от USAID • «Агентство»
Спикер Госдумы Вячеслав Володин на пленарном заседании во вторник призвал покаяться на Красной площади россиян, получавших деньги от Агентства США по международному развитию (USAID). Слова Володина бы...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
A relief — contrary to Maia Sandu’s comments yesterday, the Moldovan Judges Evaluation Commission says the USAID freeze won’t affect vetting of judges. The commission gets $1.5m from the State Department to support vetting processes. radiomoldova.md/p/47085/judg...
radiomoldova.md
Judges' Evaluation Commission: Vetting process is not affected by stopping USAID funding
The Judges' Evaluation Commission has announced that the suspension of USAID funding has not impacted their activities, and the commission members are continuing their work as usual. This clarificatio...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Some good news — Interpol has issued a wanted notice (not a Red Notice) for Vlad Plahotniuc, after an appeal from Moldovan authorities in November. Worth mentioning — Plaha has at least three passports, if not more. www.zdg.md/stiri/ultima...
zdg.md
Ultima oră/ Vladimir Plahotniuc, dat în căutare internațională pentru arest și extrădare. Detalii de la IGP
Inspectoratul General al Poliției (IGP) informează că, la 6 februarie 2025, Comisia de Control a Fișierelor din cadrul Interpol a notificat Direcția cooperare polițienească internațională a IGP despre...
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A.K. Maggard @zerkzal.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Really pleased to see BIS and OFAC get Haas Automation on export control violations. Will hopefully have chilling effect. Important detail - this includes transactions going back to 2019. Hoping to see similar actions in EU, Japan, and Taiwan. Still more work to be done. www.bis.gov/press-releas...
bis.gov
Haas Automation to Pay Over $2.5 Million in Combined Civil Penalties to BIS and OFAC for Prohibited Transactions, Including with Entities Affiliated with Chinese and Russian Defense Sectors | Bureau o...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Really interesting Moldova note from today’s OFAC designations — Ilan Shor was purportedly involved in a cross-border sanctions evasion scheme between a Kyrgyz bank and Promsvyazbank. First time I’ve seen Shor directly cited as a sanctions evasion risk factor.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Day 2 of Transnistria’s gas crisis. Transnistrian authorities saying 131 schools, 147 kindergartens, and 130 state buildings were disconnected from central heating. The region has roughly two weeks of reserves. t.me/moldovasays/...
t.me
ТРИ МОЛДОВАНА 🇲🇩
❌Глава Минэкономразвития непризнанной Приднестровской Молдавской Республики Сергей Оболоник в ходе заседания оперативного штаба сообщил об отключении от теплоснабжения 131 школы и 147 детских садов из...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
Day 1 of Transnistria’s gas freeze. Central heating and hot water have been completely shut off. TSV (news outlet affiliated with Sheriff) is promoting a hotline largely dedicated to where citizens can find firewood. The so-called MOD will begin arranging transport of firewood to cities tomorrow.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
Sabotage in the Baltics continue — Finland detained a tanker carrying Russian oil on the suspicion that it had severed undersea cables on Christmas Day. www.wsj.com/world/europe...
wsj.com
Finland Seizes Tanker Linked to Russia After More Undersea Baltic Cables Cut
Finnish leaders are calling for more NATO protection against alleged sabotage of critical infrastructure by Moscow.
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Olga Lautman 🇺🇦 @olgalautman.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
Finnish grid company Fingrid has reported another cable break in the Baltic Sea. The power supply via the Estlink 2 cable, which connects Finland and Estonia, was cut off. This is the 4th incident in the region in a month theins.ru/news/277510
theins.ru
В Балтийском море произошел очередной разрыв кабеля. На сей раз поврежден кабель между Финляндией и Эстонией
Финская сетевая компания Fingrid сообщила об очередном разрыве кабеля в Балтийском море
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Concerning SVR press release regarding Moldova’s gas crisis, claiming Sandu wants a military seizure of MGRES. Moscow will probably end up covering supply using Trans-Balkan pipeline — but Russia has always used gas negotiations to pressure Chisinau into different economic/political concessions.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
1). Investment is good 2). Softbank Vision Fund also promised to do $100b alongside Saudi PIF and completely fell on its face (and lost $30b + in FY2023).
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
The fact that @evangershkovich was able to take his terrible injustice and use it to inform a significant and invaluable investigation like this is remarkable. On DKRO, the CI arm of the FSB responsible for targeting Americans: www.wsj.com/world/russia...
wsj.com
Tracking Putin’s Most Feared Secret Agency—From Inside a Russian Prison and Beyond
The spy unit that arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter is leading the biggest campaign of internal repression since the Stalin era.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
From Elina Ribakova and Theodore Bunzel: “With stronger enforcement of Western export controls, Russia would be forced to undertake a costly reorientation of military supply chains, causing disruptions and shortages in the supply of weapons to the frontline.” www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/russi...
foreignaffairs.com
The Russian Economy Remains Putin’s Greatest Weakness
Harsher sanctions could push him to negotiate with Ukraine.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Enormously significant. The electoral process now must be completely restarted from the beginning. The strongest response to a sophisticated foreign influence campaign we’ve seen in recent memory.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
A must-read Buckeye diatribe. “The worst crime in this rivalry isn't losing a game. It's showing a palpable fear of losing and self-involvement with a tradition that cannot or ever be about one person.” www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-f...
elevenwarriors.com
Anywhere But Here
Ryan Day began his head coaching tenure with a speech about Francis Schmidt and Ohio State's Gold Pants tradition. He didn't mention why Schmidt left Columbus, but he's finding out for himself right n...
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Elisabeth Braw @elisabethbraw.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Your friendly reminder that suspected cable sabotage is not the only trouble in the Baltic Sea. Russia is also interfering with AIS & other navigational tools used by ships. That leads to delays and can cause collisions. foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/04/r... (Me @foreignpolicy.com. No paywall.)
foreignpolicy.com
The Baltic Sea’s Bad Actors
Russian and Chinese gray-zone aggression prove that dreams of a peaceful “NATO lake” were premature.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
This is a remarkable and brave piece of journalism. “Cartels are turning to chemistry students studying at Mexican universities with an ambitious goal — to synthesize precursors essential to making fentanyl, freeing them from having to import them from China.” www.nytimes.com/2024/12/01/w...
nytimes.com
Mexican Cartels Lure Chemistry Students to Make Fentanyl
Criminals turn college campuses into recruitment hubs, recruiting chemistry students in Mexico with big paydays.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
As I continue to process, I will simply leave this here. www.nytimes.com/athletic/394...
nytimes.com
Ohio State should give Mike Vrabel the world, resume dominance and never look back
Vrabel becoming the head coach at his alma mater should be more than an Ohio State fan fantasy.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
A brave woman — and a brave country.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Moscow continuing to use the $700m Gazprom debt to blackmail Moldovans — except this time, it’s Left Bank residents under the gun. Additionally — independent audits have assessed the disputed “debt” is likely around $9-$10m. interfax.com/newsroom/top...
interfax.com
Gazprom, Chisinau to continue discussing options for Russian gas supplies to Moldova, debt settlement
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Doug Klain @dougklain.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦 @razomforukraine.org is here!
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Highly interesting the extent to which young voters propelled Georgescu. The fact that PSD outspent everyone by multitudes and was overwhelmingly rejected by young voters isn’t *just* a propaganda issue. Young voters everywhere are highly disillusioned — time to grapple with that.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Moldovan diaspora results in Romania’s election yesterday — no real surprises. That said, 3k votes for Simion from Moldova — I’d love to know what goes through the head of a Simion/Sandu voter….
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Maximilian Hess @maxhess.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Wow. If you’re interested in Eurasia, energy geopolitics, corporate corruption, Putin palace intrigue, Kazakhstan, or just damn good writing & reporting, stop what you’re doing & read this. Tom Rowley has written the definitive piece on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. www.icij.org/investigatio...
icij.org
Putin’s pipeline: How the Kremlin outmaneuvered Western oil companies to wrest control of vast flows of Kazakhstan’s crude - ICIJ
Chevron and partners prioritized profits, enabling runaway costs and ballooning budgets worth billions as Russia deployed strong-arm tactics and steered contracts to cronies.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
One of Kennedy’s best speeches was one he never gave — the one he would have given on this day 61 years ago, had he lived a few hours more. “We in this country, in this generation, are – by destiny rather than choice – the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.“
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Franz-Stefan Gady @hoanssolo.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Russia has likely sent S-400 long-range surface-to-air missiles, launchers and ground-based radar systems to North Korea, according to South Korea. apnews.com/article/nort...
apnews.com
Russia supplied air defense missiles to North Korea in return for its troops, South Korea says
A top South Korean official says Russia has supplied air defense missile systems to North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang sending troops.
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Nate Sibley @natesibley.bsky.social · 23/12/2023
Time to put Putin’s $330 billion war chest on a one-way flight to Kyiv.
hudson.org
Make Russia Pay: The Case for Seizing Russia’s Sovereign Assets
Background The United States, the European Union, and their international partners acted swiftly in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, imposing sanctions on more than $300 billion of Rus...
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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
A snapshot of some recent events in the Moldovan region of Transnistria that illustrate the separatist region's authoritarianism, tense ties with Ukraine, and closeness with Russia. First, the mayor of Tiraspol has been replaced. There have been rumors ...
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Moldovan Energy Minister Parlicov will visit St. Petersburg for negotiations with Gazprom about gas supply to Transnistria after January 1, amongst other issues. t.me/newsmakerliv...
t.me
NewsMaker.md | Новости Молдовы, Украины и региона
Министр энергетики Виктор Парликов получил приглашение на встречу с председателем правления ПАО «Газпром» Алексеем Миллером. «Сейчас существуют несколько важных вопросов, связанных с транзитом росси...
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auonsson @auonsson.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
I think CN ship Yi Peng 3 is being detained. Suspect in cable incidents. She slowed down to a crawl in Kattegatt, manouvered to 400 meters inside DK territory. DK navy patrol P525 to her port. Guess: she is detained, awaiting either DE, FI or SE staff since they are the countries affected.
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Alexander St. Leger @alexstleger.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Seems as if another downed drone was discovered in Moldova today — this time potentially inside the city limits of Chisinau. Location is reportedly north of Riscani on the way towards Cricova. Not far from the city center at all. t.me/live_chisina...
t.me
Кишинев Live 🇲🇩
⚡️Национальная полиция сообщила, что еще один дрон был обнаружен сегодня около 11:20 вблизи Chisinau Arena и Port Mall. 👉 Кишинев Live. Подписаться
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