The Real Russia. Today. Monday, July 15, 2024

The war in Ukraine

• 🕊️ Ukrainian president says Moscow should attend next summit: President Zelensky said on Monday that Russia should be represented at the next summit seeking an end to the war in Ukraine. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller later said that Washington will support Kyiv if it decides to invite Moscow to the next conference.
• 🇺🇸 Trump’s running mate is a Ukraine skeptic: Donald Trump’s newly announced running mate, J.D. Vance, has criticized current U.S. policy in Ukraine, remarking last December that it’s in America’s best interest “to accept [that] Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians.” Vance also dismissed fears that the Russian military would expand its invasion into Western Europe, arguing that Moscow lacks the capacity and possibly the political will for such escalation. Vance was one of 15 Republican senators who voted against a recent $95-billion foreign aid package to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, insisting that the funding be dependent on stricter controls at the U.S. southern border.

🔱 How Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak redefined his post to become the country’s second most powerful figure (10-min read)

In the five years since Volodymyr Zelensky became president of Ukraine, former entertainment lawyer Andriy Yermak has built an impressive career. Less than a year after being appointed as a presidential aide, Yermak was named head of the Ukrainian President’s Office in February 2020, and he quickly became the country’s most powerful official after the president himself. In 2024, Time Magazine included Yermak (and not Zelensky) on its list of the world’s 100 most influential people. And during the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland last month, Yermak behaved like a full-fledged member of a ruling tandem. For Meduza, journalist and researcher Konstantin Skorkin explains how Yermak managed to amass so much influence in such a short period — and what could come next.

🪖Conscript soldier found outside St. Petersburg in apparent hanging

Late last month, a conscript was found hanged from a tree in the St. Petersburg region, about six months from his military unit. (Russian conscripts are not deployed to fight in Ukraine, though many are recruited, sometimes against their will, to enlist as contract soldiers.) The man in question, Kirill Poluyanov, was three days shy of his oath of service, and state investigators reportedly believe he took his own life. However, Poluyanov’s mother says her son complained of hazing and extortion in the barracks. She says he was also missing teeth and showed injuries around his lips when she went to identify Poluyanov’s body (though officials claim this was caused during the autopsy). The mother is now campaigning for an expanded investigation into her son’s death, describing it as necessary to ensure the lives of other Russian conscripts.

⚖️ Ukraine to free colonel who reportedly coordinated Nord Stream pipeline bombings

An appellate court in Ukraine has set bail for Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in the special operations forces who reportedly “coordinated” the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, sources told The Washington Post. The decorated 48-year-old officer will go free once his lawyers raise 19 million hryvnia ($513,000). Chervinsky was arrested in April 2023 for allegedly abusing his authority when plotting to lure a Russian pilot to defect to Ukraine in July 2022. (He is accused of revealing the coordinates of a Ukrainian airfield that was later attacked.) The Washington Post reported in November 2023 that Chervinsky managed “logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines.” He denies these allegations.

We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)!

Russian domestic policy

• 🛂 Moscow still annulling visas to mess with dissidents abroad: Another emigre says the Russian government annulled her passport. College student Olesya Krivtsova fled house arrest and left the country in March 2023 to escape felony prosecution for repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian military. She says Russian diplomatic staff in Norway refused to renew her passport, citing the criminal charges against her, and she’s lost online access to the state services central hub — a repeat of what two activists from Omsk reported last week.
• 💱 Russia to conceal trading-volume data to defend against new sanctions: The Central Bank says it will no longer publish daily information about the trading volumes of the U.S. dollar, euro, and yuan against the ruble, calculated based on over-the-counter (OTC) trades (between two parties without an exchange’s supervision) with “tomorrow” settlements (trades where the actual exchange happens the next business day). The bank says the change is to limit the impact of Western sanctions. In June, following U.S. sanctions against the Moscow Exchange and its intermediaries in dollar trading, the Moscow Exchange halted trading in dollars and euros, and the Central Bank pivoted to OTC trades to determine the ruble’s exchange rates.

🏳️‍⚧️ Russian lawmakers want to ban adoption by citizens of countries that allow gender transitions. What would this mean for the children involved? (2-min read)

The Russian State Duma has introduced a bill to ban the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitions are legal. The ban would affect not just E.U. member states but also countries like Bolivia, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan, among others. However, according to an explanatory note attached to the bill, the restrictions are primarily aimed at NATO countries. In 2023, foreign citizens are recorded as having adopted just six children from Russia; in five cases, the parents were Italian citizens, and in one case, they were French citizens. Both Italy and France allow gender transitions.

💱 What’s happening with the ruble and yuan in Russia one month after the Moscow Exchange halted dollar and euro trading? (7-min read)

It’s now been a month since U.S. sanctions against Russia’s largest stock exchange forced it to halt trading in U.S. dollars and euros. In the days that followed the suspension, the ruble’s official exchange rate against these currencies experienced unusual fluctuations. However, the Russian currency has since slightly strengthened against the dollar. Meduza explains the dynamics of the exchange rate, the effects of the new sanctions on Russian businesses and citizens, and whether the yuan now dominates Russia’s foreign currency market.

No country can be free without independent media. In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, banning our work in the country our colleagues call home. Just supporting Meduza carries the risk of criminal prosecution for Russian nationals, which is why we’re turning to our international audience for help. Your assistance makes it possible for thousands of people in Russia to read Meduza and stay informed. Consider a small but recurring contribution to provide the most effective support. Donate here.