The US is investigating a firm linked to Russian oligarch Abramovich for investing in hedge funds
Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich looks on from the stands during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on April 16, 2016 in London, England. Abramovich announced in March 2022 that he was selling the club due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. The UK government froze Abramovich’s assets there days later because of his “close ties to (the Kremlin)”.
Paul Gillam | Getty Images
US authorities are investigating Concord Management, an investment advisory firm that managed billions of dollars in hedge fund investments for Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The investigation, conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is focused in part on how Abramovich’s associates used several offshore shell companies to invest $8 billion in hedge funds and private equity firms, it added in the report, citing people close to the company.
Abramovich is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies and has been sanctioned by nations around the world for his support for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
— Reuters
The State Department will provide $89 million to help clear landmines in Ukraine
Ukrainian bomb disposal workers carry unexploded ordnance during demining work in the village of Yakhidne, in the liberated territories of Chernihiv Oblast on June 7, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Supinsky | AFP | Getty Images
The State Department will provide $89 million to help clear landmines, improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance in Ukraine.
“Russian forces have used explosive munitions in an irresponsible and brutal manner, causing civilian casualties, significant damage to vital civilian infrastructure and contaminating a vast amount of Ukrainian territory with unexploded ordnance and land lines,” a State Department official told NBC News.
The official added that Ukrainian authorities have found Russian mini-traps and improvised explosive devices hidden in cars, toys and in corpses.
The official told NBC News that an area of approximately 160,000 square kilometers could be contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance.
— Amanda Macias
An estimated 2,200 schools have been damaged, Ukraine says
A destroyed classroom in a school damaged by shelling by the Russian army in the village of Kukhari, Ukraine, Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 16, 2022.
Maxim Marusenko | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science said approximately 2,200 educational institutions have been damaged in Ukraine since Russia’s war began.
The ministry estimates that around 220 educational institutions were destroyed. The assessment comes as some parts of Ukraine expect to reopen the school year next month.
“Due to ongoing hostilities, the return to study campaign for the new academic year and university admissions may not be possible. In addition, if students continue to rely on online learning, additional equipment and services are likely to be required,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.
— Amanda Macias
Biden ratified the applications of Finland and Sweden for NATO membership
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, welcomes Sauli Niinisto, President of Finland, left, and Magdalena Andersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, May 19, 2022 .
Oliver Contreras | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Joe Biden has signed ratification documents, bringing Finland and Sweden one step closer to joining the NATO alliance.
“They will meet all NATO requirements, we are confident of that,” Biden said before signing the documents.
Biden’s signature follows a 95-1 Senate vote last week.
After the US, the governments of the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey have yet to sign the instruments of ratification. All 30 NATO allies must approve Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
— Amanda Macias
At least 366 Ukrainian health facilities have been attacked since the start of the war, the WHO says
A couple injured in a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine, June 27, 2022.
Anna Voytenko | Reuters
Since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine on February 24, the World Health Organization’s Health Care Attack Monitoring System estimates that there have been at least 434 attacks on vital health services in the country.
The organization reported that health facilities were damaged 366 times, ambulances were targeted in 65 cases and at least 104 attacks affected critical medical supplies. The group also estimated that attacks on health services resulted in at least 85 deaths and 101 injuries.
The Kremlin has previously denied attacking civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and residential buildings.
— Amanda Macias
Biden will sign the ratification of Finland and Sweden to join NATO
U.S. President Joe Biden walks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto (L) and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson along the Rose Garden Colonnade before making remarks to the press at the White House on May 19, 2022.
Chip Somodevilla | News from Getty Images | Getty Images
US President Joe Biden is due to sign Finland and Sweden’s instruments of ratification to join NATO at 2pm ET.
Last week, the Senate voted 95 to 1 to ratify the entry of Finland and Sweden into the military group.
In May, both countries began the formal application process for NATO membership.
Biden welcomed leaders from both countries to the White House and pledged to work with the Senate – which must sign off on US approval of NATO bids – and the other 29 members of the world’s most powerful military alliance to quickly bring Sweden and Finland into the group. .
— Amanda Macias
Russia has lost between 70,000 and 80,000 troops since invasion began, Pentagon says
Pro-Russian servicemen stand guard on a road ahead of the expected evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel plant amid the Ukrainian-Russian conflict in Mariupol, Ukraine, May 16, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
The Pentagon estimates that the Russian military has suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties since the invasion of Ukraine began in late February.
The rare assessment, shared by the Pentagon’s third-ranking official, comes as the U.S. prepares its largest-ever security aid package for Ukraine. Casualties include soldiers killed or wounded.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced a $1 billion arms package, the 18th such installment, bringing the U.S. commitment to about $9.8 billion since the war began.
— Amanda Macias
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Milli meets his French counterpart in Germany
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley speaks with members of the military before a ceremony to present the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Thomas Payne for conspicuous gallantry while serving in Iraq, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. DC on September 11, 2020.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley met with the Pentagon’s top general overseeing Europe during a visit to Germany.
The two also met with France’s chief of defense staff, Gen. Thierry Burckhardt, and “discussed matters of mutual interest and shared assessments of the ongoing Russian incursion into Ukraine,” according to a Pentagon statement about the meeting.
“The long-standing alliance between the US and French militaries plays a critical role in maintaining peace and stability in Europe and other regions of the world,” the text added.
The meeting between Milley, US European Command Gen. Christopher Cavoli and Burckhardt comes as the US prepares its 18th weapons package for Ukraine.
— Amanda Macias
UK says it has donated more than 100,000 Covid vaccines to Ukraine
There isn’t enough research on how much protection a fourth dose might offer, medical experts told CNBC.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
The British Embassy in Ukraine said it had donated 100,800 Covid vaccines to the war-torn country.
“We are protecting those most in need by ensuring that Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion have access to basic healthcare and receive vital vaccinations,” the British embassy said in a statement.
— Amanda Macias
US imposes visa restrictions on 100 people linked to Putin ally Lukashenko
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 9, 2021.
Mihail Voskresenski | Kremlin Sputnik | via Reuters
The State Department is imposing visa restrictions on 100 people linked to Alexander Lukashenko’s regime for their involvement in undermining the 2020 presidential election in Belarus.
Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, earlier said Belarus would support Russian forces amid the Kremlin’s so-called special military operation in Ukraine.
“When it became clear that the election had been stolen by the Lukashenko regime, the Belarusian people bravely took to the streets with messages of hundreds of thousands of people gathering to demand peaceful free and fair elections and a democratic transition,” State Secretary Antony Blinken wrote in a statement.
— Amanda Macias
March was the deadliest month of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the UN says
People stand among newly built graves at a cemetery in the course of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict in the village of Stariy Krim near Mariupol, Ukraine, May 22, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said March was the deadliest month so far in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
There was…
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