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Bank of Russia forecasts profits in national banking sector

The portfolio of corporate loans is expected to grow by 6-11% in 2024 and by 8-13% in 2025 for banks

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. The Bank of Russia expects net profits in the banking sector to stay at 2.3-2.8 trillion rubles ($25.2-30.6 bln) in 2024 and 2.6-3.1 trillion rubles ($28.5-33.9 bln) as of the end of 2025, the regulator said.

Funds of corporate clients will grow by 7-12% in 2024 and by 8-13% in 2025. Households’ money is forecast to increase by 8-13% in 2024 and by 10-15% in 2025.

The portfolio of corporate loans is expected to grow by 6-11% in 2024 and by 8-13% in 2025 for banks. The housing loans portfolio is forecast to grow by 7-12% in 2024 and by 10-15% in 2025. Other retail loans will move up by 3-8% and 6-11% accordingly.

Profit of Russian microfinance organizations in 2024 may rise by 39% — experts

According to the Bank of Russia, in 2022, the profit of microfinance organizations also increased by 39% year-on-year, and by 40% - in 2023

Lavrov, Libyan representatives discuss resuming intergovernmental commission

Parties expressed "mutual interest in establishing and strengthening mutually beneficial multifaceted cooperation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

Protesters in Georgia reconvene to rally against foreign-agents bill

The Georgian parliament's Legal Affairs Committee endorsed the third reading of the bill on foreign agents on Monday

Serbia’s ambassador to return to Kiev soon — President Vucic

Serbia’s embassy in Kiev suspended operation in March 2022 due to security considerations

Putin proposes Belousov as Shoigu's replacement: what is known about cabinet reshuffle

Other heads of security ministries and services, as well as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, will retain their posts in the government

Shoigu to oversee Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, not head it — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov added that the service is headed by Dmitry Shugayev

Kiev reports difficult situation in Kharkov region

This direction has been strengthened, Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky said

Formidable Sarmat: Satan’s successor that can pierce any defense

TASS’ military analyst fills us in on one of the greatest secrets of Russia’s defense industry

US-led coalition’s aircraft violate Syrian airspace six times in past day

Apart from that, in his words, one shelling attack on positions of Syrian government troops by militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra was reported in the Aleppo governorate in the Idlib de-escalation zone

Russian official lauds defense industry as world’s most powerful in basic arms output

Denis Manturov noted that the geopolitical situation was prompting the need constantly to improve operational characteristics of armaments and military hardware

North Korean delegation arrives in Russia’s Primorsky Region — news agency

Bilateral exchanges between Russia and North Korea have intensified since the second half of 2012

Discussions of candidates for security bloc, Foreign Affairs ministers to finish in Russia

The plenary session is expected to begin at 14:00 Moscow time with the personal participation of all candidates

Seismic activity recorded at Russia's Lake Baikal

It is highlighted that the quake's intensity in the city of Ulan-Ude was between 3 and 4 (weak to moderate), and was around 3 in Irkutsk

Yemen interested in supplies of Russian equipment for its thermal power plants

Deputy Energy Minister Sergey Mochalnikov and member of the Yemeni Advisory Council Rashid Barabaa also discussed prospects for implementing joint projects in the field of green energy

National project on labor efficiency to cover at least 40% of enterprises by 2030 — Novak

According to the minister, it is planned to involve 100% of state and municipal enterprises of the social area in the project on growth of labor efficiency

Kharkov authorities acknowledge advance of Russian troops

The head of the military administration cited the delay in Western arms deliveries as the reason for the Ukrainian forces' failures

Swiss singer wins Eurovision 2024 contest

Nemo Mettler won with The Code song

Macron denies death of French troops in Ukraine out of fear of protests — SVR head

According to Sergey Naryshkin, the French Army is "visibly concerned" over the growing number of French citizens killed in Ukraine

Ukrainian military redeploys reserves towards Kharkov

"Depending on the development of the situation the build-up of the group will continue," according to the report

Switzerland conference on Ukraine aims to issue ultimatum to Russia — Lavrov

Sergey Lavrov stressed that "the conference has long been the talk of all those who are trying to defeat Russia on the battlefield"

Ukraine’s shelling of civilians backfires, unites Russians against common enemy — envoy

Rodion Miroshnik cited as an example this March, when during the presidential election in Russia's regions bordering Ukraine the number of shellings increased significantly, especially in the Kursk Region

Payments in national currencies prior for BRICS member states — VEB.RF senior banker

According to Sergey Storchak, BRICS nations are facing the task of integrating existing systems with each other instead of creating a new one

Gazprom builds up gas supplies to China via Power of Siberia by 37.4% since year’s start

Gazprom regularly provides daily supplies above contractual obligations, the company noted

NATO unable to prevent GPS jamming in Baltic region — retired Polish general

Waldemar Skrzypczak said he believes Russia is involved in the suppression of the GPS signal over the Baltic Sea to "test the alliance's reaction"

Germany to give Ukraine IRIS-T air defense system in May — ambassador

Martin Jaeger added that Germany also provided Ukraine with Gepard self-propelled air defense systems and a completely new system that was developed in Germany: the Skynex

Russia to join ranks of top four global economies — presidential decree

The government is tasked to present eleven new National Projects by September 1 of this year

Russian troops wipe out 10 pieces of Western armor in DPR

It is noted that the number of destroyed Western armored vehicles could be considerably larger

Over 170 protesters detained and released in Yerevan during day

Grass-roots protests against the delimitation and demarcation of the border with Azerbaijan in the Tavush region and ceding four villages to Baku are coordinated by the Tavush for the Homeland movement

Multiple deaths, at least 20 wounded in Ukraine’s shelling of Belgorod

At least eight people were reported to have been killed and 20 - wounded, including two children

Kiev worried over potential impact of Putin’s interview on Washington’s policy

It is noted that this interview can be seen as a kind of "audition" for Carlson, who may seek the office of the US vice president if Donald Trump wins the presidential election

Russian robotic drone jammers shield evacuation groups in Ukraine operation

The innovation was prompted by the existence of gray zones in areas of combat operations that are dangerous for groups to evacuate wounded personnel, Denis Oslomenko noted

Two UN employees injured amid fighting near Rafah crossing

One of the injured is in serious condition, according to the report

Biden signs decree banning uranium imports from Russia — White House

The United States believes that a ban on imports of uranium from Russia will allow the United States to eliminate dependence on Russia in the field of peaceful nuclear energy

Number of those wounded in LPR’s Krasnodon up to six — LPR head

According to Leonid Pasechnik, missile fragments, presumably of US-made ATACAMS, were found in a park and near a residential house

Protesters in Cyprus call for end to funding Kiev following terrorist attack on Belgorod

The terrorist acts committed by the regime of Ukrainian President Vladimir "Zelensky against the civilian population of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and other Russian border territories are criminal," said Mikis Filaniotis head of the Cypriot branch of the International Russophile Movement

Russian aluminum inventories at LME warehouses fall by over 60% in April

According to LME, aluminum reserves at the end of April amounted to 116,300 tons

State Duma approves deputy prime ministers of the Russian government

On May 7, the day of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration, the Russian government resigned, in accordance with the law

S-500 system to be supplied to Armed Forces after 2015

Victor Gumenny said the advanced systems may solve the tasks of air-space defence and may fight hypersonic weapons

Battlegroup North liberates four settlements in Kharkov Region in past day

Russian air defenses also downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet

Europeans go for broke seeing risk of collapse for Kiev in special op situation — Kremlin

According to Peskov, currently, "the moment is crucial."

Ukrainian commanders trading blame with each other over defeats near Kharkov — NYT

Many in Ukraine reportedly believe that their country’s situation in the conflict with Russia has significantly worsened

Caracas, Moscow expanding bilateral cooperation — top Venezuelan diplomat

Vershininn is taking part in the second meeting of national coordinators of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, which is underway in Caracas

One in two Germans believe Russia unlikely to attack NATO, poll shows

Only two percent of respondents are confident that the German army is well prepared to defend the country, while 39% believe the armed forces are in poor condition.

Ukraine shells Krasnodon in LPR due to Russia’s successes in Kharkov area — ruling party

"They think that they can intimidate us but we know that our victory is near," Ivan Sanayev noted

Fit nation: Russia to see widespread increase in people exercising by 2036 — official

"We will build at least 350 sports facilities per year in our regions for all age categories until 2030," Dmitry Chernyshenko noted

Russian, Bolivian presidents discuss bilateral relations — Kremlin

Vladimir Putin and Luis Arce focused on "the implementation of mutually beneficial joint projects in trade, economy and energy"

Sullivan, Austin, Brown spend 90 minutes discussing military assistance with Ukrainians

The officials on the Ukrainian side were Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and the presidency’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, the US official said

China supports Serbia in defending its sovereignty on Kosovo issue — Xi

Xi Jinping is on a state visit to Serbia on May 7-8

Moscow court arrests Russian citizen for attempt to join Ukrainian armed formation

According to a source, Maxim Dmitriyenko served in the French Foreign Legion for three years

St. Petersburg Exchange will act as platform for exchange of Yandex N.V. shares

Acceptance of applications will begin no later than May 16

Russian troops destroy over 16,000 armored vehicles in Ukraine operation — top brass

Russian troops improved their frontline positions and inflicted casualties on the Ukrainian army in the Kharkov area over the past day, the ministry reported

Yandex N.V. files application for delisting of shares from Moscow Exchange

The date of delisting will be announced by the exchange later, but for now trading in Yandex N.V. shares continues as usual

Experts of Ukraine’s Energoatom inspecting Belene NPP equipment for purchase — news portal

The Ukrainian side expressed hope of signing an agreement on the purchase of the equipment in June

Russia to enter new promising markets for growth of non-resource-based exports

Growth of labor efficiency is the key factor for Russia to become one of the world’s top four economies, Alexander Novak noted

Maximum influence of previous key rate hikes expected in Q2 2024 — Central Bank of Russia

New proinflation surprises from the side of economic activity will require a long period of maintaining tight monetary conditions, the regulator added

Ukraine replaces Kharkov group commander for second time in two months

Mikhail Drapaty, who continues to be a deputy chef of the general staff, replaced former Kharkov group commander, Yury Galushkin, who was appointed to the post in early April 2024 to succeed Andrey Gritskov

Africa sees Russia as key security partner amid competition from global players — diplomat

Mikhail Bogdanov described Africa as "the continent of the future," a place of "truly inexhaustible natural and human resources" with "an increasingly large and high-margin market"

Russian stock indices in the green as trading on Moscow Exchange closes

The dollar-to-ruble rate was down by 0.98% to 91.35 rubles, while the euro-to-ruble rate decreased by 0.95% to 98.55 rubles

Mauritius working on Mir system introduction — Russian Ambassador

Mir cards are now accepted in nine countries but operations of the system are limited in six of them

All blazes caused by Ukrainian attack on industrial zone in Krasnodon localized — LPR head

"As many as 28 people have been evacuated from buildings," Leonid Pasechnik said

Protesters end rally against foreign-agents bill in Georgia without scuffles with police

Even though there was an announcement to end the rally, people are staying near the legislature at Rustaveli Avenue

Developer shows first image of Russia's new Sarmat ballistic missile

The RS-28 Sarmat is the newest heavy liquid-propelled intercontinental ballistic missile currently being co-developed to replace the world’s largest and most formidable ballistic missile, the Voyevoda

Russia-Ukraine draft peace treaty was 75% agreed in April, Russian envoy says

Russia handed over the document to the Ukrainian side on April 15, Vladimir Medinsky recalled

Kharkov regions aspiring to join Russia — interim administration

According to Head of the Kharkov Region’s interim civil administration Vitaly Ganchev, residents are already making numerous enquiries about receiving the Russian citizenship

Russia’s Federation Council holds consultations on security, intelligence appointments

The candidates were nominated by President Vladimir Putin and their names were submitted to the council on May 12

Russian troops destroy Ukrainian army positions in area bordering Belgorod Region

"The personnel of the Battlegroup North actively employ FPV drones in the special military operation to eliminate the Ukrainian army’s dugouts, manpower and various military equipment," Russia’s Defense Ministry reported

Motor rifle troops in Urals receive upgraded T-72B3M tanks

The T-72B3M is a heavily upgraded version of the T-72 main battle tank

Death toll in partially collapsed apartment building in Belgorod climbs to 15

Belgorod and its suburbs came under massive shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces earlier on May 12

Georgian PM condemns police violence against protesters

Irakli Kobakhidze urged everyone "to meet all provocations with maximum tolerance"

Georgian legislature to pass foreign-agents bill in final reading on May 14 — PM

According to Irakli Kobakhidze, it "will play a crucial role in ending the so-called polarization that was imposed from the outside"

Egypt threatens to end its mediation between Israel, Hamas — WSJ

The officials said Egypt is also blocking any humanitarian aid trucks from entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister highlights EU’s double standards to Ukraine, Gaza Strip

Alexander Grushko discussed with Deputy Foreign Minister of Egypt Khalid Emara in Cairo "the processes of formation of a multipolar world, key trends in the evolution of international relations, and the changing role of international organizations and associations"

Polish soldier Emil Czeczko who fled to Belarus found hanged in Minsk

A forensic examination will be held to establish the cause of the man’s death

Officials in Kharkov Region move to evacuate 113 orphaned children

The head of the regional military administration said that "only nine children with foster parents from the Volchansk community have volunteered to leave"

Russia didn’t invite officials from unfriendly countries to victory parade, diplomat says

Maria Zakharova said veteran organizations in unfriendly countries weren’t affected by the decision not to invite officials

Russian, Sudanese officials talk conflict settlement in republic — Foreign Ministry

According to the statement, the parties discussed further strengthening the partnership between the two countries, "including maintaining an active political dialogue"

Figure skater Valieva to play several roles in Tatiana Navka’s ice show

Earlier, Navka’s team said on its social networks that the Ruslan and Lyudmila ice show will be performed in Sochi in the summer

Polish authorities persecute supporters of relations with Moscow, Minsk — ex-judge

Tomasz Schmidt sees some "positive" trends in Polish society, which, unlike the authorities, is determined to restore relations with Moscow and Minsk

Scientists plan large-scale studies of musk ox population on Taymyr

The research will be supported by the RN-Vankor grant program

US forms new anti-China, anti-Russia proxy alliances in APR — expert

Alexander Stepanov noted that the Pentagon has formed a kind of strike group comprising Japan, the Philippines and Australia, which includes high-accuracy and long-range weapons systems and components of the US missile defense and air defenses

Armenian opposition leader Bagrat Galstanyan calls for more protests across country

He said that the opposition movement "will increase pressure across the entire country, from the north to the south"

Russia’s S-300PS in Tajikistan confirm combat readiness

In April, at a meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of the CIS armed forces special attention was paid to the development of the joint communication and air defense systems

Western strikes on Yemen have no excuse — Russia’s ambassador to UN

Vasily Nebenzya also noted the failure of attempts "to justify this aggression by Security Council Resolution 2722 or by references to the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter"

Economic effect from introducing AI to surpass $10.9 bln — official

By 2030, this figure is expected to exceed $120.77 bln, Candidate for the post of Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said

Kiev describes situation in Volchansk as extremely challenging

According to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, "fierce fighting" is taking place in the Kharkov Region

Putin pardons 52 female convicts — Kremlin

First and foremost, the pardon covers women with minor children, pregnant women and women, whose relatives are involved in the special military operation

Ukrainian drone drops on parking lot in Belgorod, eight cars damaged

Vyacheslav Gladkov added that another drone fell down near a multi-apartment building

Russian diplomat says NATO sees Ukraine as tool against Russia

Zakharova expressed confidence that Stoltenberg is interested in Ukraine's future only in the context of confrontation with Russia, while he "takes no interest at all" in the future of Ukrainians

US ready to do utmost relieving Kiev of responsibility for atrocities — Russian ambassador

"The reaction of American officials to the deadly strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on residential areas, or rather the absence of even a hint of condolences, is very telling," Anatoly Antonov said

US Secretary of State plans to visit Kiev — Politico

Antony Blinken will travel to Ukraine this week, the newspaper reported

Aerospace Forces receive new Su-35S fighters

Su-35S have passed ground and flight trials and flew from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to the deployment airfield

State Duma approves Mikhail Mishustin as Chairman of Russian Government

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin thanked State Duma lawmakers for approving his candidacy for the prime minister’s office

US is plotting another pandemic — Russian Defense Ministry

"We do not rule out the United States may use so-called defensive technologies for offensive purposes, as well as for global governance by creating crisis situations of biological nature," lieutenant general Igor Kirillov stressed

Russian troops destroy over 30 Ukrainian observation posts in Kherson area over past day

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on May 12 that Russian troops had inflicted roughly 50 casualties on the Ukrainian army in the Kherson direction over the past 24 hours

Russia’s Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet crashes in Far East

The pilot ejected and was not injured in the accident

Police in Tbilisi starts dispersing protesters near Georgian Parliament’s building

Protestors refuse to follow the instructions of the police, a TASS correspondent reported

Russia’s onslaught on Kharkov may compel Ukraine to truce — NYT

On May 11, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported liberating several populated localities in the Kharkov Region

US veteran calls Washington’s decision to drop Elbe Day celebrations with Russia ‘dumb’

That was the last good link that we had, Frank Cohn said

If West wants to solve Ukraine conflict on battlefield, 'so be it' — Lavrov

Sergey Lavrov reiterated that Russia was ready to negotiate peace not only in words, but also in deeds

Head of Main Personnel Directorate of Russia’s Defense Ministry Yuri Kuznetsov detained

A search was conducted at both Kuznetsov's job and his home, other specifics about the criminal case have not been revealed, law enforcement agencies told TASS

Press review: Russia installs new defense minister and Ukrainian terror in Belgorod

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, May 13th