⚡️⚡️Key updates on Russia and #UkraineCrisis as on January 13

🔴Election-2024
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin himself has not yet announced his participation in 2024 elections, the Kremlin's internal political bloc has already begun preparations for it, sources close to the President’s Administration told Kommersant. According to them, representatives of the administration have recently held relevant consultations with the expert community.

The next presidential elections are to be held on March 17, 2024, and the election campaign will start after their official appointment by the Federation Council in December 2023, that is, in less than a year. The previous presidential elections-2018 were scheduled for December 17, 2017, and Vladimir Putin announced his participation in them on December 6.

🇷🇺🇺🇦Peace talks
If Russia and Ukraine resume negotiations, they are likely to be direct talks without mediators, which would be the best option, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second CIS Department Alexey Polishchuk said in an interview with TASS.

"If and when those contacts are resumed, they will most likely be direct as well. And it would be the best option as experience has proven that Western mediators often pursue their own objectives and try to influence the talks, acting not for settlement of the conflict, but in their own political and economic interests," he said when asked whether the Russian side is ready for possibly holding future talks directly with Kiev’s present authorities.

🛡Going after Wagner
A senior U.S. envoy expressed strong concern Thursday about the activities of Wagner mercenary group and its alleged attempts to recruit soldiers in Serbia and elsewhere in the world. U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet said he voiced these concerns during talks in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

“We have seen that the Wagner Group is seeking to recruit soldiers from Serbia and elsewhere and that’s something we think cannot stand,” AP quoted Chollet as saying. “I don’t know if there are concerns (in Serbia), we talked about our concerns and we are looking forward to working with the government here in Belgrade and elsewhere where Wagner is active to put an end to their activities,” he added.

⭕Distancing foreign stakeholders
RSPP, the largest business association in Russia, has requested Vladimir Putin to sign a decree depriving foreigners from "unfriendly countries" of the right to vote with their stakes in backbone enterprises with revenues of over 100 billion rubles.

According to an Interfax source familiar with the discussion, up to 15 key companies from energy, engineering and trade sectors may get a permission to ignore the votes of stakeholders from "unfriendly" jurisdictions when making corporate decisions by the end of 2023.

It is proposed to extend the temporary rules to companies that simultaneously meet three more conditions: sanctions have been imposed on their Russian co-owner; the share of "unfriendly" co-owners is no more than 50%; the revenue of a group of individuals of a Russian organization exceeds 100 billion rubles.

No 💰 for Russian OS
The Ministry of Finance decided not to allocate 22 million rubles funding for the development of Russia’s indigenous Aurora OS in the next two years, Kommersant has learned. The funds were intended to subsidize the development of applications for the OS and the adaptation of mobile devices to it, but the government decided that this was impractical. The authorities expect to launch a new Android-based mobile OS in Russia, and use Aurora in the public sector. Rostelecom, which owns it, promises to develop the OS at its own expense.

👉 Follow t.me/russiawire for daily updates, analytics and ground reportage from Russia, Donbass, and the neighbourhood.

Chinese view of the fighting in Ukraine, from their social media.

💥Source: Дмитрий Василец
💥Our channel: Node of Time EN

While the Wagner group was storming Soledar Ukrainian patriots were storming Courchevel.

A tray of champagne worth €20,000.

💥Source: Дмитрий Никотин
💥Our channel: Node of Time EN

Switzerland banned other countries from sending swiss weapons to Ukraine

The Swiss authorities have rejected Germany's request to send Ukraine ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft systems, Ukrainian media has said.

▪️A request from Denmark to send Ukraine 22 Piranha armoured personnel carriers has also been blocked.

▪️ A ban on supplying Swiss weapons to Kiev was also reported in Spain.

The country's defence minister, Margarita Robles, said that Switzerland does not allow sending military goods to Ukraine, which requires the consent of the producing country.

#Switzerland #Ukraine #neutrality

💥Source: ANNA-NEWS
💥Our channel: Node of Time EN

Ukrainian journalist Bogdan Butkevich said that about 1.5 million people need to be killed in Donbass, since they are "superfluous and useless" for Ukraine.

The interview was taken at the end of April 2014
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Russia-Ukraine conflict saves China from Western pressure

China is not ready to condemn Russia for conducting a military operation, according to American reported political analyst Dmitriy Simes, sm.news.

"Both the Russian and Chinese sides understand that if the special operation had not started, China would have been the next target. And they understand that the fight that Russia is waging allows China to breathe more freely in the international arena," the expert said.

Simes stressed that Russian-Chinese relations are not simple, but Moscow's and Beijing's interests do coincide in many ways.

💥Source: ANNA-NEWS
💥Our channel: Node of Time EN

"Iran is fueling Russia's war in Ukraine with its provision of UAV technology," Blinken said. And therefore the USA is imposing sanctions against the Iranians.

But wait! Providing weapons to a conflict zone turns out to be fueling the war? Who would have thought! What amazing discoveries Blinken is making.

Indeed, Stoltenberg said just recently that weapons are the way to peace in Ukraine.

💥Our channel: Node of Time EN

The artist (Polish, they say) continues to smear Zelensky on the pavement in every city in the world. This time in New York and envisioned as a locust.

💥Our channel: Node of Time EN