The Russian Invasion

Russian President Putin. Mikhail Metzel / AP  

 

Russian invasionRussian reactions 

Russia freezes billions of the profits of big companies  

 

Western companies have made multi-billion dollar profits in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. The only problem is that the Kremlin has frozen the money to squeeze "unfriendly" nations. That's what the Financial Times writes. 

 

- Tens of billions of dollars are stuck in Russia, and there is no way to get them out, says a CEO of a large company.  

 

Aleksandra Prokopenko, researcher at Carnegie's Russia Center, says the Kremlin has not yet presented a clear strategy for how frozen assets should be handled. She believes that the money can be used as a means of pressure, to get the West to release Russian assets.  

 

Grain silos in Odesa. Kostiantyn Liberov / AP  

 

The Russian Invasion|Ukraine's Response 

Ukraine sues neighbors in grain dispute  

 

Ukraine has submitted a lawsuit to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Poland, Slovakia and Hungary's import freeze of Ukrainian grain products, writes AFP. 

 

- For us, it is extremely important that individual EU member states cannot ban the import of Ukrainian goods, says Deputy Prime Minister Julia Svyrydenko.  

 

The countries in question have imposed import freezes on Ukrainian grain, arguing that their domestic markets cannot compete with the war-torn country in the east.  

 

In June, the EU imposed an import ban on Ukrainian grain to Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. However, the import ban was lifted on Friday and after that Poland, Slovakia and Hungary have introduced their own import freezes.  

 

Hanna Maljar Michal Dyjuk / AP  

Ukraine's deputy defense minister is fired  

 

Ukraine fires six deputy defense ministers, the country's government says, according to Reuters. One of them is Hanna Maljar, who has become famous for giving updates on the situation in the war against Russia.  

 

The reason behind the decision is not yet known.  

 

Earlier in September, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov had to leave his post. He is replaced by Rustem Umerov.