Russian industrial businesses in some industries face bankruptcy due to the inability to purchase critical chemical raw materials abroad, including from "friendly" countries. The 14th package of EU sanctions has resulted in the suspension of supplies of 1/7
polymethylene phenyl isocyanates (another name for methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, MDI) to Russia. These are used in the production of foams, sealants, self-levelling floors, pipes, refrigerator components and car parts. According to a letter sent to Anton Alikhanov, 2/7
the Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, the economy is 100% dependent on imports of this material. Suppliers from the US, Europe and Japan stopped shipping, followed by China. China's largest MDI producer, Wanhua Chemical Group, announced a complete halt to supplies 3/7
to Russia. At the same time, an attempt to reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia was unsuccessful, the industrialists complain. Sadara Chemical did not confirm the possibility of shipments to Russia. "The loss from a shortage of this component will be huge. There is nothing 4/7
to replace it in most applications. After all, these are jobs; these are people who need to be paid, but the companies will not be able to provide them," said Gorokhov. Without MDI, it is impossible to produce the foam used to make thermal insulation, but not only 5/7
construction companies will suffer, but also, for example, refrigerator manufacturers, warns Anton Guskov, an official representative of RATEK (an association of trading companies and manufacturers of electrical household and computer equipment). 6/7
"We do not produce it (MDI), and if we do, it is produced in small quantities and in a quality unsuitable for household appliances," Guskov complains. 7/7
In Russia, a new wave of hatred toward Chechens is flaring up - and this time, the reason seems surprisingly harmless: a Central Bank vote to choose the image for a new 500-ruble banknote. Yet another attempt by the authorities to distract from economic and social problems
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has unexpectedly exposed deep-seated interethnic tensions that have been smoldering in the country for decades. Two options emerged as frontrunners in the online voting: Mount Elbrus and the Grozny City business center - a symbol of the modern Chechen capital. In the region
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itself, the campaign has taken on the character of a national project: authorities, schools, hospitals, and military units have been organized to participate. The process is personally supervised by Ramzan Kadyrov and his administration. This activity provoked a stormy
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The Russian Ministry of Defense has drafted a bill to involve Russian citizens in the Armed Forces reserve in performing tasks during peacetime, RBC reports, citing a copy of the document. The government approved the initiative on October 13, according to a source familiar 1/9
with the matter. The bill proposes that reservists can be called up for special training sessions by presidential decree. These “special sessions” are described as military gatherings aimed at fulfilling specific defense-related tasks in cases of armed conflict, 2/9
counterterrorist operations, or the deployment of forces abroad. According to Andrei Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defense Committee, the bill expands the ability to use reservists in various circumstances. He noted that it introduces broad legal definitions that would 3/9
Russian Uralvagonzavod - the country’s main manufacturer of railway cars and also tanks (since Soviet times, Russia has had a tradition of dual-purpose factories, where the producer of metal buckets might also make artillery shells) - is switching its civilian workforce 1/7
to a four-day workweek. The change will affect only employees in the railcar production division. They were offered to transfer to “other divisions with active orders,” since the situation is quite different in tank production. Uralvagonzavod, part of the Rostec corporation, 2/7
is Russia’s largest tank manufacturer. After the start of the war, the plant switched to a three-shift schedule, and since August 2022 has been operating around the clock. Russia’s economy is increasingly shifting to a war footing, while its civilian sector is rapidly 3/7
Another sign of growing problems in the Russian economy. Next year, Russia will cut spending on the production and repair of aircraft by one and a half times — from 139.6 billion to 85.7 billion rubles. This was reported by The Moscow Times. “The Russian government plans 1/9
to reduce funding for the federal project ‘Production of Aircraft and Helicopters’ by 1.6 times in 2026 - from 139.6 billion to 85.7 billion rubles,” the report says. According to the draft of Russia’s new budget for 2026–2028, spending will also decrease in 2027 compared to 2/9
previously planned figures - from 109.7 billion to 86.9 billion rubles (a 21% drop). Funding is expected to slightly increase only in 2028 - to 89.3 billion rubles. The publication notes that the most significant cuts will affect state support for Russian airlines renewing 3/9
Europe still does not fully understand the threat posed by Russia. There has been growing talk of a possible attack on the Baltic states, but in reality, this threat is minimal - and the real danger lies elsewhere. Putin has found a grey zone, and so far it brings far
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greater benefits than any ground operation could. NATO has spent its entire existence preparing for a conventional war with infantry and tanks, but the main threat today is hybrid warfare. There is no need to launch missiles to paralyze airports or completely collapse
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a country's banking or energy system - cyberwarfare is a reality, not a fantasy from Hollywood films. Putin’s goal is to sow discord within Western societies, and hybrid war offers a wide range of tools to achieve that. His main target remains Ukraine, and he is doing
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The Russians carried out the most massive attack on Ukraine’s gas production infrastructure to date, according to Serhiy Koretskyi, head of the Naftogaz Group. “It was a combined strike involving 35 missiles, including a significant number of ballistic ones, and 60 drones. 1/6
Some were shot down, unfortunately not all,” he wrote on Facebook. He specified that the Russians once again targeted Ukraine’s gas extraction facilities in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions. As a result of the attack, a significant portion of the facilities was damaged, with 2/6
some suffering critical destruction, Koretskyi reported. Company specialists, together with Ukraine’s State Emergency Service and other agencies, are working at the scene, and efforts to eliminate the consequences of the strike are ongoing. “This is the most massive attack 3/6