The Russian Invasion

One of several photos that have been published from the visit to Algeria. Surovikin on the right. 
 

Russian Invasion|Russian Reactions 

Signs of life from "General Armageddon" - is in Algeria  

 

Russian General Sergei Surovikin, who is commonly referred to as "General Armageddon", has been captured on video in Algeria after essentially disappearing since the Wagner uprising in June. Surovikin appears to be part of a delegation from the Russian Defense Ministry visiting a mosque.  

 

The purpose of the visit is not known and Moscow has not officially commented on it, according to AFP.  

 

Surovikin has been one of Russia's leading commanders during the war in Ukraine. He led the forces between October 2022 and January 2023, before being ousted.  

 

After the Wagner uprising in June, Surovikin, who was considered an ally of the Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, has barely been seen. According to the New York Times, Surovikin was arrested after the uprising. In early September, another photo allegedly showing Surovikin alive circulated in Moscow.

 

Illustration image. AFP / TT NEWS AGENCY  

 

The Russian invasion The sanctions  

Russian tankers without ice class in the Northeast Passage 

  

For the first time, Russia has sent unreinforced oil tankers through the Northeast Passage, writes the Financial Times. Two ships without the ice class normally required set course for China in early September.  

 

Concerns about an oil spill in the Arctic's hard-to-reach environment are now spreading. Journalist Malte Humpert, who covers the Arctic for the site High North News, reasons that Russia's decision breathes "desperation". 

 

- I think it is a clear signal that the environment is less important to Russia than selling its raw materials at any price, he says.  

 

The Russian agency Rosatom claims that unfortified oil tankers can navigate safely through the passage during the summer and early fall.  

 

Sanctions in the wake of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine have prompted Russia to use the Northeast Passage to a greater extent. So far, however, it has happened with ice-class tankers.  

 

View of the city of Yalta in Crimea. Alexander Zemlianichenko / Ap

 

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

Russian authorities in Crimea are selling Zelensky's property  

 

The Russian authorities in occupied Crimea plan to sell around 100 Ukrainian properties, Reuters reports. One of them belongs to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.  

 

The sales contracts amount to a total value of the equivalent of SEK 95 million.  

 

The authorities announced in February that they had nationalized around 500 properties in Crimea. Some of them are said to have been owned by Ukrainian politicians and businessmen.