🇷🇺Week of September 28

A fire at a firecracker factory in Yaroslavl Oblast killed 13 people and injured one, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said. Fifteen people were working at the plant at the time of the blaze.12

The director of the burned pyrotechnics plant in Yaroslavl Oblast has been detained, Interfax reported. The owner of the plant had faced a bankruptcy attempt in 2023, according to BFM.ru.34

Attributed claim: The death toll from the fire at the pyrotechnics plant near Yaroslavl was reported as 13 by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, while the business outlet Expert reported 14 dead. The discrepancy in the number of fatalities remains unresolved in the cited accounts.15

Vladimir Putin signed a decree placing the Russian assets of the German retail group Metro under temporary management. The assets were transferred to the management company UK Torg RUS. The Russian business outlet БИЗНЕС Online put the value of the assets at 80 billion, and framed the move against the state of relations with Germany, which it described as already "below zero."1234

Metro retained its local management following the transfer, according to the business outlet New Retail. The decree covers the Russian assets of Metro Cash & Carry.53

The transfer was reported by Russian business and wire outlets including Ведомости, Forbes.ru, The Bell and Сноб, as well as by the opposition outlets DW, Meduza and BBC.6789

Iran's Foreign Ministry confirmed negotiations through Qatari mediators and said it expects a US response on Tuesday. The talks are taking place as Washington and Tehran remain in a military conflict.12345

President Donald Trump rejected a ceasefire proposed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also denied reports that sanctions against Iran could be eased.24

Trump said Israel would have been destroyed if he had not started the war with Iran, and claimed the US is close to victory in the conflict. He also said he is ready to lift sanctions on Iran and unfreeze its funds in exchange for nuclear steps.356

Iran-US negotiations in New York took place without a direct meeting. The talks were described as Trump bargaining with Iran through threats and retreats.78

A Russian drone struck the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv, part of continued Russian strikes on the city that caused destruction and casualties. The strike also hit a medical center in Kyiv, and an air raid alert was declared in Kyiv and several Ukrainian regions.123

Former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine was wounded in the drone strike, and his assistant was killed. The strike on the Academy of Sciences and the medical center is part of a series of attacks on Kyiv.42

Attributed claim: The pro-government outlet EADaily, citing the Telegram channel "Two Majors," reported on what was being developed at the National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, framing the site as a military-related target. Opposition outlets Meduza, BBC, and Radio Svoboda described the strike as a Russian drone attack on the Academy of Sciences and a medical center, with destruction and casualties.5126

Vladimir Putin ordered the government to purchase grain from Russian farmers into the state fund, a measure framed as support for domestic grain producers. The purchases are intended to absorb grain that cannot be exported.123

The Russian service of The Moscow Times reported that the order followed a blockade of southern ports by Ukraine, which cut off export routes for Russian grain. The oppositional outlet tied the state purchases directly to that blockade.4

Three million tons of Russian grain are to be directed into state storage under the purchase program. The figure was reported as the volume headed to the state fund.5

Business outlet BIZNES Online reported that farmers in Tatarstan face the problem of where to sell their grain, describing their export hopes as sinking in the Black Sea. The report highlights the regional pressure on producers as southern export routes are disrupted.6