Federal government is discussing the creation of a state company to regulate its mineral extraction industry and provide funding for local businesses.

Africa’s second biggest economy has sizable untapped deposits of metals, including gold, zinc, lithium and iron ore. But nearly all extraction is done by so-called artisanal miners on a small-scale or manual basis, which means that the government misses out on tax revenue.

“The proposed corporation will seek and secure partnership-investment agreements with big multinational companies worldwide,” Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals, told a briefing in Abuja on Sunday. The new body would aim to secure “massive foreign direct investment for the mining sector,” he said.

The proposed entity will focus on the development of the country’s essential commodities, such as gold, coal, limestone, bitumen, lead, iron-ore and baryte, the minister said.

Africa’s top crude producer is also introducing a new law aimed at cracking down on smuggling and providing best oversight practices for the operations in the sector, Alake said. The regulation, which is under review, will be presented to lawmakers in the coming days, he said.

 

Bloomberg

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have opened fire on two commercial buses and abducted scores of the passengers near Ochonyi village, along the Abuja-Lokoja highway.

One of the passengers of the buses, who escaped while being led into the bush, Shedrack Jonathan, said he boarded the bus at Jabi in Abuja, travelling to Enugu, and that they ran into the gunmen.

He said the incident happened around 7:33pm after Omoko village, last Thursday, while descending a sloppy part of the road, adding that they started hearing gunshots and the bus suddenly veered off the road into the bush.

He added that few seconds after, some people emerged from the bush with guns and ordered them to come out from the bus and led them into the bush.

He said he managed to escape after about a kilometer from the highway and he came out at neighbouring Aseni village.

He said, “At Aseni village, some vigilantes saw me and I narrated what happened and they mobilized to the scene.”

A member of the vigilante in the area, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the abduction of passengers from the two buses.

He said the gunmen came from the bush and shot the tyres of the two buses, which forced the drivers to stop.

He said, “Before we mobilized to the scene, the gunmen had escaped with the victims, leaving the buses by the road.

He said the vigilantes were still combing the forest on the trail of the gunmen.

The scene of the attack was just some few meters away from a checkpoint, where our reporter learnt police only operated during the day and left around 6pm.

When contacted, spokesman of the Kogi State Police Command, Williams Ovye Ayah, promised to issue a press release after finding the details of the incident, but did not up till the time of filling the report last night.

 

Daily Trust

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian warplanes sink speedboats with Ukrainian landing force – Moscow

Russian warplanes have prevented yet another landing attempt by Ukrainian forces, destroying four US-made military speedboats and their crews in the Black Sea west of the Crimean Peninsula, the Defense Ministry said on Monday morning.

Russian Black Sea Fleet naval aviation aircraft “destroyed four US-made Willard Sea Force high-speed military boats with landing groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the military said.  

The landing force was reportedly heading towards Cape Tarkhankut, the westernmost part of the Crimean Peninsula, in yet another botched landing attempt, according to the ministry.

Last week, Russian forces foiled several alleged Ukrainian landing attempts. Early Wednesday morning, the Russian military reported sinking “four military speedboats carrying a landing force of Ukrainian special operatives, numbering up to 50 men” at an undisclosed location in the Black Sea.

Later in the day, a Russian Su-30 fighter jet had sunk a speedboat to the east of Snake Island, near the Ukrainian port of Odessa and close to Romanian territorial waters. A few hours later the same day, the ministry claimed the elimination of yet another Ukrainian motorboat by an Su-24 bomber west of the same island.

Last month, the Defense Ministry also published footage of what it said was a Russian fighter jet destroying a US-made speedboat carrying a Ukrainian amphibious team near Snake Island.

** Russian drones destroy Ukrainian oil depot – MOD

Moscow has conducted a drone attack on an oil depot used to supply Kiev’s army in Odessa Region near the Romanian border, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

In a statement, the ministry said the Russian Air Force conducted a group UAV strike on facilities used to refuel Ukrainian military vehicles in the port of Reni, located on the left bank of the Danube River.

“The objective of the strike was achieved. All designated targets have been hit,” the Defense Ministry said.

MOD officials also said Russia had taken out two Ukrainian ammunition depots and a drone command center in southeastern Dnepropetrovsk Region and a Kiev-controlled part of Kherson Region, again using UAV strikes.

This comes after Ukrainian media reported a powerful explosion in Reni in the early hours of Sunday morning. Later in the day, Oleg Kiper, the head of Odessa’s military administration, said that a Russian attack had damaged port infrastructure, and claimed that Ukrainian air defenses had shot down 22 drones.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Zelenskiy moves to replace wartime defense minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had decided to replace his defence minister, setting the stage for the biggest shake-up of Ukraine's defence establishment since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskiy said he would dismiss Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of the country's main privatisation fund.

Reznikov, defence minister since November 2021, has helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, but has been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he has described as smears.

The decision comes amid a crackdown on corruption in Ukraine that Zelenskiy has been eager to emphasize. Kyiv has applied to join the European Union and the public has become highly sensitive to corruption as the war rages with no end in sight.

"I've decided to replace the Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war," Zelenskiy said. "I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole."

Zelenskiy said he expected parliament to approve Umerov's appointment, adding that Umerov "does not need any additional introduction". Zelenskiy has to submit Umerov's candidacy to parliament for review.

A 41-year-old ex-lawmaker and Crimean Tatar, Umerov has led Ukraine's State Property Fund since September 2022 and played a role in sensitive wartime negotiations on, for instance, the Black Sea grain deal.

He has been praised in Ukraine for his track record at the State Property Fund, which oversees the privatisation of state assets and had been embroiled in corruption scandals before he took charge.

RAPPORT WITH THE WEST

During the war, Reznikov's defence ministry lobbied the West to overcome taboos on supplying powerful military gear to Ukraine, including German-made main battle tanks and HIMARS rocket artillery. Kyiv now looks poised to receive U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets soon.

Although Reznikov has had numerous interactions with U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, a Pentagon spokesperson declined comment on the move, saying that it was an internal matter for the Ukrainian government.

Western military aid has played a crucial role in the war, as Ukraine first forced back Russian troops around the capital Kyiv before launching counteroffensives in the northeast and south.

Its troops are now fighting through heavily mined areas and Russian defensive lines to recapture territory in the southeast and east.

An English-speaker, Reznikov is seen as having built up a strong rapport with allied defence ministers and military officials.

One member of parliament has tipped him as Ukraine's possible new ambassador to London.

His apparent exit appears to bring an end to months of domestic media pressure that began in January when Reznikov's ministry was accused of buying food at inflated prices.

Though he was not personally involved in the food contract, some Ukrainian commentators said he should take political responsibility for what happened.

Last month, a Ukrainian media outlet accused his ministry of corruption during the procurement of winter coats for the army. Reznikov denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said he was being targeted by a smear campaign.

** Russia says Ukraine launched drone attacks on Kursk region

Ukraine launched drone attacks on the Kursk region of Russia overnight from Sunday to Monday, with the Russian defence ministry saying its forces had shot down two drones after midnight on Monday.

The drone attack on the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine to its west, began around 1 a.m. Monday (2200 GMT Sunday), the defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

This followed a report Sunday evening by the governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, that debris from a downed drone sparked a fire at a non-residential building in the city of Kurchatov.

One of Russia's biggest nuclear plants is about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) from Kurchatov, but there were no reports the plant was affected or targeted.

Starovoit did not say which building was damaged in the Sunday evening drone attack, but Russia's Baza news outlet, which has good sources among law enforcement agencies, said drone debris fell on the roof of the security services building.

The full extent of the damage was not immediately reported. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Drone attacks on Russian targets, especially in Crimea - annexed by Moscow in 2014 - and in regions bordering Ukraine, have become almost a daily occurrence since two drones were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May.

The attacks have disrupted flights in and out of Moscow in recent weeks. Ukraine rarely takes direct responsibility for such drone strikes but says destroying Russian military infrastructure helps a counteroffensive Kyiv began in June.

There has been much handwringing about the retreat of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism in recent years – and for good reason. From Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former US President Donald Trump, we have a growing list of authoritarians and would-be autocrats who channel a curious form of right-wing populism. Though they promise to protect ordinary citizens and preserve longstanding national values, they pursue policies that protect the powerful and trash longstanding norms – and leave the rest of us trying to explain their appeal.

While there are many explanations, one that stands out is the growth of inequality, a problem stemming from modern neoliberal capitalism, which can also be linked in many ways to the erosion of democracy. Economic inequality inevitably leads to political inequality, albeit to varying degrees across countries. In a country like the United States, which has virtually no constraints on campaign contributions, “one person, one vote” has morphed into “one dollar, one vote.”

This political inequality is self-reinforcing, leading to policies that further entrench economic inequality. Tax policies favor the rich, the education system favors the already privileged, and inadequately designed and enforced antitrust regulation tends to give corporations free rein to amass and exploit market power. Moreover, since the media is dominated by private companies owned by plutocrats like Rupert Murdoch, much of the mainstream discourse tends to entrench the same trends. News consumers thus have long been told that taxing the rich harms economic growth, that inheritance taxes are levies on death, and so forth.

More recently, traditional media controlled by the super-rich have been joined by social-media companies controlled by the super-rich, except that the latter are even less constrained in spreading misinformation. Thanks to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, US-based companies cannot be held liable for third-party content hosted on their platforms – or for most of the other social harms they cause (not least to teenage girls).

In this context of capitalism without accountability, should we be surprised that so many people view the growing concentration of wealth with suspicion, or that they believe the system is rigged? The pervasive feeling that democracy has delivered unfair outcomes has undermined confidence in democracy and led some to conclude that alternative systems might produce better results.

This is an old debate. Seventy-five years ago, many wondered whether democracies could grow as fast as authoritarian regimes. Now, many are asking the same question about which system “delivers” greater fairness. Yet this debate is unfolding in a world where the very wealthy have the tools to shape national and global thinking, sometimes with outright lies (“The election was stolen!” “The voting machines were rigged!” – a falsehood that cost Fox News $787 million).

One of the results has been deepening polarization, which hampers the functioning of democracy – especially in countries like the US, with its winner-take-all elections. By the time Trump was elected in 2016 with a minority of the popular vote, American politics, which once favored problem-solving through compromise, had become a bald-faced partisan power struggle, a wrestling match where at least one side seems to believe there should be no rules.

When polarization becomes so excessive, it will often seem as though the stakes are too high to concede anything. Rather than looking for common ground, those in power will use the means at their disposal to entrench their own positions – as the Republicans have done openly through gerrymandering and measures to suppress voter turnout.

Democracies work best when the perceived stakes are neither too low nor too high (if they are too low, people will feel little need to participate in the democratic process at all). There are design choices that democracies can make to improve the chances of hitting this happy medium. Parliamentary systems, for example, encourage coalition building and often give power to centrists, rather than extremists. Mandatory and ranked-choice voting also have been shown to help in this respect, as does the presence of a committed, protected civil service.

The US has long held itself up as a democratic beacon. Though there has always been hypocrisy – from Ronald Reagan cozying up to Augusto Pinochet, to Joe Biden failing to distance himself from Saudi Arabia or denounce the anti-Muslim bigotry of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government – America at least embodied a shared set of political values.

But now, economic and political inequality have grown so extreme that many are rejecting democracy. This is fertile ground for authoritarianism, especially for the kind of right-wing populism that Trump, Bolsonaro, and the rest represent. But such leaders have shown that they have none of the answers that discontented voters are seeking. On the contrary, the policies they enact when given power only make matters worse.

Rather than looking elsewhere for alternatives, we need to look inward, at our own system. With the right reforms, democracies can become more inclusive, more responsive to citizens, and less responsive to the corporations and rich individuals who currently hold the purse strings. But salvaging our politics also will require equally dramatic economic reforms. We can begin to enhance the well-being of all citizens fairly – and take the wind out of populists’ sails – only when we leave neoliberal capitalism behind and do a much better job at creating the shared prosperity that we acclaim.

 

Project Syndicate

Are you tired of striving for consistent growth, trying to figure out a hundred different ways to grow your business by 10 or 20 percent year after year? 

Well, here's a radical idea: What if I told you that achieving 10x growth might be easier and more straightforward than you think?

In a world with so many avenues for business growth, I recently stumbled upon a refreshing and truly profound concept in Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy's latest book, 10x Is Easier Than 2x. 

I'll admit the title had me skeptical at first, but knowing that it was devised by Sullivan, considered by many to be the top entrepreneurial coach of all time, and Hardy, an acclaimed organizational psychologist and leadership expert, I figure I'd give it a chance.

And I'm glad I did. I quickly learned a simple mindset shift that every entrepreneur should consider – one which has the potential to revolutionize the way you approach the trajectory of your business.

The Infinite Dilemma of 2x Growth

As an entrepreneur and efficiency consultant, I understand how difficult it is to grow a business, let alone 10x. On a personal level, I'd be happy to double my business – and that sure as hell sounds easier than growing it 10x. 

But the problem with setting a goal of 2x growth or even incremental growth of 10 to 20 percent is that you're often met with an overwhelming array of possibilities. 

It's like trying to choose from an infinite buffet of tactics and strategies. As a result, your focus becomes scattered and your efforts diluted.

10x Clarity

Now, imagine asking yourself, "How can I grow my business by 10x?" Suddenly, the noise clears and the answers become more apparent. 

You see, significant growth rarely comes from small changes or doing more of the same things incrementally. Instead, it stems from laser-focusing on one or a few game-changing strategies.

In his book, Hardy references the work of Alan Barnard, a leading expert on decision-making, who calls this phenomenon 10x clarity. 

By setting an audacious goal, you challenge your assumptions and open your mind to new, innovative ideas. With the noise filtered out, you identify the critical few actions that can lead to exponential growth.

When you shift your thinking to 10x instead of 2x, Hardy and Sullivan say it becomes "absurdly and even comically obvious which strategies, relationships, or behaviors won't work." 

And they're so obviously right. I've thought of hundreds of different ways to grow my business, but if I were to consider only those with the potential for 10x, the list gets smaller. A lot smaller.

Pushing the Limits

So, how do you achieve the seemingly impossible? It starts by stretching your goals beyond what you think is feasible. As we've seen, aiming for 10 percent or even 2x growth leaves room for endless possibilities, but 10x growth forces you to think differently.

Operating outside the bounds of past norms and assumptions is what allows true breakthroughs to happen. By daring to test the limits, you become receptive to groundbreaking approaches that were previously overlooked. 

What you'll find is that, really, there are only a few ways to grow any business by 10x. They're typically big game-changing moves that will require significant time and effort from your team. It's going to be scary – but when you consider the potential upside, it's often worth the risk.

Unlocking Your 10x Potential

Ready to unlock your business's 10x potential? Here are a few steps to get you started:

• Identify the one big thing: Analyze your business thoroughly and identify one or a few game-changing strategies that could lead to exponential growth. You may want to brainstorm this with your team.
• Create your roadmap: Figure out what would need to happen to make those strategies work, and map out the projects required to achieve them. This becomes your roadmap for the next few quarters or years.
• Set impossible goals: Implement a goal-setting framework like OKRs to clarify exactly what you want to achieve. Embrace the audacity of setting seemingly impossible goals. Push beyond the boundaries of what you think your business can achieve.
• Weed out distractions: Say no to anything that doesn't align with your 10x vision. Keep the lights on, of course, but push low-priority projects to the side and commit fully to your one big thing.
• Embrace the journey: Remember that achieving 10x growth is a journey, not an overnight miracle. Commit to sustained effort and focus on the long-term results.

See? I was a skeptic too, but when you break it down like this, 10x starts to seem a lot more reasonable than it sounds.

You can't expect a miracle overnight, but the premise is simple: Aiming for 10x growth is the best way to simplify and clarify your business strategy. 

By challenging your assumptions and setting audacious goals, you'll uncover the hidden potential that will drive your business to unparalleled heights.

 

Inc

President Bola Tinubu has directed the recall of all career and non-career ambassadors serving in different countries.

Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, announced the decision barely 24 hours after the president recalled Sarafa Isola, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK).

In a statement on Saturday by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar’s adviser on media and communications strategy, the minister said the recall of Isola on Friday was applicable to all ambassadors.

In a letter dated August 31, the minister said Tinubu had recalled Isola and asked him to return to Nigeria by October 31 at the latest, after taking formal leave from his host government.

On Tinubu’s behalf, Tuggar thanked the outgoing High Commissioner for his service and wished him well in his future endeavours.

“Sequel to the inquiries on the letter recalling the Nigerian ambassador to the UK, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tuggar, has clarified that all career ambassadors and non-career ambassadors have been recalled on the instructions of Tinubu,” the statement reads.

“Ambassadors as representatives of the country serve at the behest of the President and it’s his prerogative to send or recall them from any country.”

There was no mention of when their would-be successors would assume office.

 

The Cable

At least nine worshippers have been reported killed in an attack by suspected terrorists in the Saya-Saya community in Ikara Local Government of Kaduna state.

The member representing Ikara local government at the state’s House of Assembly, Alhassan Muhammed, reported that the assailants attacked two communities.

“The sad incident happened on Friday after Insha’i prayer, the gunmen invaded the Saya-Saya town on a motorcycle with sophisticated weapons.

“They started shooting inside and outside the mosque during the night prayer, killing seven people inside the mosque and two others in the neighbourhood.

“The Kaduna State government, the local government councils and other stakeholders are on top of the situation to prevent the recurrence of the ugly incident,” the lawmaker said.

A witness, Dan-Asabe Ikara, said two other people were killed by the same attackers at Tashin Dauda – a neighbouring community while fleeing from the scene of the attack.

“I was there when the incident happened, we were praying. I was at the mosque premises, and two of the attackers covered their faces and approached the mosque before they started firing.

One of them (attackers) blew a whistle, and one other said “we have arrived” before they started firing indiscriminately at the worshippers.

They killed six people inside the mosque, and the seventh victim died at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, in Kano State, before being attended (to) by a medical doctor,” Ikara said.

Police spokesperson in Kaduna, Muhammed Jalige, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Calls made to his phone number did not connect. He also did not reply to an sms sent to him requesting comment.

 

PT

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside a French military base in Niger's capital Niamey on Saturday demanding that its troops leave in the wake of a military coup that has widespread popular support but which Paris refuses to recognise.

The July 26 coup - one of eight in West and Central Africa since 2020 - has sucked in global powers concerned about a shift to military rule across the region.

Most impacted is France, whose influence over its former colonies has waned in West Africa in recent years just as popular vitriol has grown. Its forces have been kicked out of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso since coups in those countries, reducing its role in a region-wide fight against deadly Islamist insurgencies.

Anti-French sentiment has risen in Niger since the coup but soured further last week when France ignored the junta's order for its ambassador, Sylvain Itte, to leave. Police have been instructed to expel him, the junta said.

Outside the military base on Saturday, protesters slit the throat of a goat dressed in French colours and carried coffins draped in French flags as a line of Nigerien soldiers looked on. Others carried signs calling for France to leave.

Reuters reporters said it was the biggest gathering yet since the coup, suggesting that support for the junta - and derision of France - was not waning.

"We are ready to sacrifice ourselves today, because we are proud," said demonstrator Yacouba Issoufou. "They plundered our resources and we became aware. So they're going to get out."

By early evening local time, there had been no apparent outbreaks of violence.

France had cordial relations with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and has about 1,500 troops stationed in Niger.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke to Bazoum every day and that "the decisions we will take, whatever they may be, will be based upon exchanges with Bazoum."

Niger's junta denounced the comments as divisive and served only to perpetrate France's neo-colonial relationship.

France is not the only country with concerns. West Africa's regional bloc ECOWAS has slapped sanctions on Niger and threatened military action as a last resort. The United States and European powers also have troops stationed in the country.

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, who holds ECOWAS' revolving chairmanship, said last week that a nine-month transition back to civilian rule could satisfy regional powers.

Niger's junta had previously proposed a three-year timeline.

 

Reuters

Niger’s top court approved the immediate expulsion of France’s ambassador, revoking his diplomatic immunity, according to a request addressed to the court’s president.

The development comes after France’s President Emmanuel Macron rejected the ruling junta’s demand to recall his ambassador a month after a coup disrupted relations between the two former allies.

The military junta that ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum gave French Ambassador Sylvain Itte 48 hours to leave the country last week. The deadline expired on Aug. 28 without France recalling Itte.

France says it doesn’t recognize the coup-plotters as the country’s legitimate leaders. Since the July 26 coup, France has committed acts that “violates the Vienna convention regulating diplomatic relations, including the violation of Niger’s airspace and other acts that go against the interests of Niger and its people, ”according to the document. Itte “has refused to leave the country after he was declared persona non grata,” it said.

A junta spokesman confirmed the document.

There have been nine military coups across sub-Saharan Africa since 2020.

Macron pledged to reset relations with Africa when he took office in 2017, becoming the latest president to promise to end Françafrique, as the country’s post-colonial political and economic influence system on the continent is known.

 

Bloomberg

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Two more ships pass through Black Sea corridor, Zelenskiy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that two more ships had passed through a "temporary" Black Sea shipping corridor established since Russia withdrew from a U.N.-backed grain export deal in July.

"Two ships have successfully passed through our temporary 'grain corridor'," Zelenskiy posted on X, previously known as Twitter.

The president did not identify the vessels involved or say when they had completed their passage. Officials on Friday said two vessels had cleared the corridor -- bringing to four the number that have used it.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was "restoring true freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Freedom requires determination."

On Friday, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister said two vessels had passed through the corridor from the port of Pivdenny: one flagged in Liberia, the other in the Marshall Islands. The vessels were carrying pig iron and iron concentrate.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of the U.N.-backed deal.

In response, Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria.

The grain agreement had allowed Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter, to ship tens of millions of metric tons of produce to other countries during Russia's invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as Ankara and the United Nations seek to revive the grain export deal.

Russia quit the deal in July after it had been in effect for a year, complaining that its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.

** Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky detained in fraud case

A Ukrainian court ordered tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky to be held in custody for two months on suspicion of fraud and money laundering on Saturday, a striking move against one of the country's most powerful businessmen.

The detention of Kolomoisky, who is under U.S. sanctions and is a one-time supporter of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy whose election he backed in 2019, comes as Kyiv is trying to signal progress during a wartime crackdown on corruption.

Defence lawyers said Kolomoisky would appeal the ruling, questioning its legality, but that he would not post bail of almost $14 million in order to secure his release, broadcaster Radio Liberty reported.

After a hearing at a district court in Kyiv late on Saturday, Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine's richest men, was shown being led away in a blue tracksuit jacket in television footage. He could not be reached for comment.

The Security Service of Ukraine announced the case against Kolomoisky on Saturday morning, publishing photographs on Telegram Messenger showing him being served documents by security officers and signing them.

"It was established that during 2013-2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalized more than half a billion hryvnias ($14 million) by withdrawing them abroad and using the infrastructure of banks under (his) control," the agency said in a statement.

After the ruling, Zelenskiy appeared to allude obliquely to the case in his evening address, thanking law enforcement agencies for showing resolve in bringing long-running cases to justice.

"Without a doubt, there will be no more decades-long 'business as usual' for those who plundered Ukraine and put themselves above the law and any rules... The law must work," he said.

WARTIME CRACKDOWN

Kolomoisky is seen as one of the class of oligarchs who amassed huge industrial wealth after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and wielded outsize political and economic influence.

Before Russia's February 2022 invasion, Zelenskiy and his team passed legislation requiring oligarchs to register and to stay out of politics. The war has eroded the oligarchs' power as industrial assets have been destroyed in the east and south, and their television channels have been broadcasting under a centralised signal.

Before winning the presidency, Zelenskiy rose to prominence as a comedian and played the role of president on a show aired on a Kolomoisky-owned TV channel. He denies Kolomoisky has had any influence over the government.

During the war, Zelenskiy has emphasised Ukraine's crackdown on corruption as Kyiv has applied to join the European Union and hopes to secure tens of billions of dollars to help rebuild the country after a war which has no end in sight.

Kolomoisky's detention is not the first wartime move involving him.

Last November, the state took control of stakes in major strategic companies, some of which were associated with the businessman, invoking wartime laws to help the war effort.

Earlier this year, security officials searched Kolomoisky's home in connection with a separate investigation into embezzlement and tax evasion at the country's two largest oil companies partially owned by him.

Kolomoisky is a former owner of leading Ukrainian bank PrivatBank, which was nationalised in late 2016 as part of a clean-up of the banking system.

He has owned assets in the energy, banking, and other sectors, including an influential television channel.

The United States imposed sanctions on Kolomoisky in 2021 "due to his involvement in significant corruption". U.S. authorities have also alleged Kolomoisky and a business partner laundered stolen funds through the United States. Kolomoisky has denied any wrongdoing.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine’s Western backers are ‘pro-Nazi coalition’ – Medvedev

Washington and its allies in Europe and elsewhere continue to support Kiev despite it acting increasingly like the Nazis during World War II, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a Telegram post on Saturday. Moscow should abandon hope of reconciling with the West and see it for what it is, he believes.

The leaders of Ukraine are “increasingly talking about ‘holding all Russians accountable’,” Medvedev said, adding that Kiev sees all Russian citizens as ‘Russians’ regardless of their ethnic background. In a thinly veiled reference to the Nazis’ plans for the Soviet Union, the former president said that the world had already seen similar aspirations.

Medvedev noted that Ukraine is still being supported by almost every single Western leader, as well as by the heads of Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. All of them “are direct and obvious Nazi accomplices,” he stated, adding that “they should be treated as the leaders of a pro-Nazi coalition.”

The former president, who now serves as the deputy head of Russia’s National Security Council and the Military Industrial Committee, then insisted that Russia should not “lapse into sweet daydreaming” about achieving reconciliation with the West and joining what he called a “big polyamory family of non-binary genders.”

Medvedev had earlier condemned what he called open glorification of Nazism in Ukraine, pointing to an initiative calling for the establishment of the Stepan Bandera Order that would supposedly be awarded to Ukrainian servicemen. Bandera was a notorious Ukrainian nationalist leader during World War II whose organization was responsible for mass killings of Jews and Poles in Ukraine.

The petition requesting the creation of such an order in Ukraine appeared on the official website of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in May. It has since received nearly 2,300 signatures of the required 25,000.

Medvedev blasted the initiative by comparing it to Germany establishing an order of Adolf Hitler or Italy introducing an order of Bennito Mussolini. “What is there to be ashamed of?” Medvedev mockingly wrote on Telegram at the time. “Let’s just glorify all European Nazis at once. This appears to be the new European ideology,” he added.

** Battlegroup Dnepr hits UAV control center, storage site for Ukrainian forces’ weapons

Servicemen of Russia’s battlegroup Dnepr hit the control center of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Kherson area, as well as the storage site for weapons and armored combat vehicles of the Ukrainian armed forces, the head of the battlegroup’s press center Roman Kodryan told TASS.

"Fire damage was inflicted at the place of storage of weapons and armored combat vehicles and the control point of unmanned aerial vehicles of the Ukrainian armed forces," Kodryan said.

He also said that an American-made M777 howitzer was destroyed near the settlement of Ingulets.

In total, according to him, over the past day, in the course of counter-battery combat units of the battlegroup Dnepr carried out more than 50 fire missions against Ukrainian positions.

"Mortar crews and D-30 artillery pieces were destroyed in the area of the settlements of Goncharnaya, Burgunka, Verovka and Otradokamenka," Kodryan added.

 

Reuters/RT/Tass