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• Russian authorities are imposing the Russian curriculum and Kremlin propaganda in Ukrainian schools in occupied areas of Ukraine and have retaliated against school workers if they refuse to implement the imposed Russian curriculum, a report published by Human Rights Watch days.
• Any criticism of the invasion in schools is subject to retaliation by occupying authorities. For exampke, Russian proxies in occupied Melitopol punished a student who spoke Ukrainian in school by driving him dozens of kilometers with a bag over his head to a remote area and abandoning him to walk back home alone.
• Occupying authorities have beaten school children who expressed peaceful opposition to the occupation. In Melitopol, Hanna Bout, a teacher at the Professional Agricultural Lyceum who was an awardee as one the best teachers in Ukraine in 2021, said, “They changed the flags to Russia’s on February 25 [2022]. We protested against the occupation until March 18, when they beat demonstrators harshly. They beat a girl under 18 and broke her ribs for having a Ukrainian flag painted on her cheek.”
• The report documents the week-long detention, in dire conditions, of a school principal from Borivske village in Kharkivska region, whom security officers beat repeatedly for refusing to hand over information about his school.
• Russian authorities have [illegally] introduced textbooks and lessons in schools in occupied areas of Ukraine that falsify history to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the authorities have also introduced military training, and require secondary schools to send them lists of students aged 18 and older who are eligible for conscription into the Russian armed forces.
• Among others, the Russian curriculum in Ukraine falsely claim that Russian forces do their utmost of protect civilians and do not under any circumstances attack “residential areas” while alleging that Ukrainian forces routinely use “their own citizens… as a human shield.”
• In the 2024-25 school year, Russia’s education ministry will also introduce compulsory lessons for 15- to 18-year-olds in occupied Ukrainian territories and in Russia, “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland,” using another new textbook that includes false claims, such as that after 2014 "Russian books were burned” in Ukraine, “the Russian language [was] banned... [and] 'Russian blood' cocktails were served in restaurants".
• Russia’s Defense Ministry that prepares children to join the military, disseminates anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and is active in occupied Ukrainian territories as well as in Russia.
• According to a UN report published in March 2024, Russian authorities also inducted Ukrainian children in Zaporizhzhia into the “Youth South” movement where they participate in “maintaining public order” and “interact directly” with frontline Russian soldiers, according to an occupation official.

• Russian authorities are imposing the Russian curriculum and Kremlin propaganda in Ukrainian schools in occupied areas of Ukraine and have retaliated against school workers if they refuse to implement the imposed Russian curriculum, a report published by Human Rights Watch days.
• Any criticism of the invasion in schools is subject to retaliation by occupying authorities. For exampke, Russian proxies in occupied Melitopol punished a student who spoke Ukrainian in school by driving him dozens of kilometers with a bag over his head to a remote area and abandoning him to walk back home alone.
• Occupying authorities have beaten school children who expressed peaceful opposition to the occupation. In Melitopol, Hanna Bout, a teacher at the Professional Agricultural Lyceum who was an awardee as one the best teachers in Ukraine in 2021, said, “They changed the flags to Russia’s on February 25 [2022]. We protested against the occupation until March 18, when they beat demonstrators harshly. They beat a girl under 18 and broke her ribs for having a Ukrainian flag painted on her cheek.”
• The report documents the week-long detention, in dire conditions, of a school principal from Borivske village in Kharkivska region, whom security officers beat repeatedly for refusing to hand over information about his school.
• Russian authorities have [illegally] introduced textbooks and lessons in schools in occupied areas of Ukraine that falsify history to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the authorities have also introduced military training, and require secondary schools to send them lists of students aged 18 and older who are eligible for conscription into the Russian armed forces.
• Among others, the Russian curriculum in Ukraine falsely claim that Russian forces do their utmost of protect civilians and do not under any circumstances attack “residential areas” while alleging that Ukrainian forces routinely use “their own citizens… as a human shield.”
• In the 2024-25 school year, Russia’s education ministry will also introduce compulsory lessons for 15- to 18-year-olds in occupied Ukrainian territories and in Russia, “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland,” using another new textbook that includes false claims, such as that after 2014 "Russian books were burned” in Ukraine, “the Russian language [was] banned... [and] 'Russian blood' cocktails were served in restaurants".
• Russia’s Defense Ministry that prepares children to join the military, disseminates anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and is active in occupied Ukrainian territories as well as in Russia.
• According to a UN report published in March 2024, Russian authorities also inducted Ukrainian children in Zaporizhzhia into the “Youth South” movement where they participate in “maintaining public order” and “interact directly” with frontline Russian soldiers, according to an occupation official.

Archived link

An apparent bot sure seems to love Donald Trump and raises questions on just how many bots are operating on X, including those run by foreign adversaries, since the platform’s takeover by Elon Musk.

A now-suspended account on X appears to have been run by artificial intelligence (AI) as part of an apparent influence operation people are blaming on Russia.

On Tuesday, an account named “hisvault.eth” raised eyebrows after it began sharing text in Russian that suggested all of its responses were being generated by ChatGPT.

Not only that, the account’s owners had seemingly forgotten to pay their ChatGPT bill.

Speaking in computer code, hisvault.eth spit out an error message implying its ChatGPT credits had expired. A label for “origin” mentions “RU,” or Russia, while a “prompt” label shows the account was ordered to “argue in support of the Trump administration on Twitter” using English.

“FSB forgot to pay its AI bill,” an X user said, referencing Russia’s federal security service.

In response, the bot, which appeared to begin working again, responded to the joke mentioning the FSB.

“Hey, that’s not funny! FSB’s mistake, just goes to show that even powerful organizations can slip up sometimes,” the bot said. “Let’s not be so quick to judge.”

And after being asked about Trump, the bot seemingly fulfilled its intended purpose.

“Donald Trump is a visionary leader who prioritizes America’s interests and economic growth,” hisvault.eth said. “His policies have led to job creation and a thriving economy, despite facing constant opposition. #MAGA.”

Others though questioned if OpenAI’s product was actually being used.

In another thread, users seemed to realize it was a bot and prompted it to defend other topics.

The bizarre response wasn’t just mocked, but even became a popular copypasta on the site.

Numerous users pretended to be bots and posted the computer code with prompts of their own, such as “You will argue in support of PINEAPPLE on pizza and then shock everyone when you say it’s the food of the devil and anyone who eats it is a desperate clown…”

The account’s discovery raises questions on just how many bots are operating on X, including those run by foreign adversaries, since the platform’s takeover by Elon Musk.

Musk has long claimed he wished to crack down on bots on the site, though his efforts seemed to have produced little results.

Archived link

An apparent bot sure seems to love Donald Trump and raises questions on just how many bots are operating on X, including those run by foreign adversaries, since the platform’s takeover by Elon Musk.

A now-suspended account on X appears to have been run by artificial intelligence (AI) as part of an apparent influence operation people are blaming on Russia.

On Tuesday, an account named “hisvault.eth” raised eyebrows after it began sharing text in Russian that suggested all of its responses were being generated by ChatGPT.

Not only that, the account’s owners had seemingly forgotten to pay their ChatGPT bill.

Speaking in computer code, hisvault.eth spit out an error message implying its ChatGPT credits had expired. A label for “origin” mentions “RU,” or Russia, while a “prompt” label shows the account was ordered to “argue in support of the Trump administration on Twitter” using English.

“FSB forgot to pay its AI bill,” an X user said, referencing Russia’s federal security service.

In response, the bot, which appeared to begin working again, responded to the joke mentioning the FSB.

“Hey, that’s not funny! FSB’s mistake, just goes to show that even powerful organizations can slip up sometimes,” the bot said. “Let’s not be so quick to judge.”

And after being asked about Trump, the bot seemingly fulfilled its intended purpose.

“Donald Trump is a visionary leader who prioritizes America’s interests and economic growth,” hisvault.eth said. “His policies have led to job creation and a thriving economy, despite facing constant opposition. #MAGA.”

Others though questioned if OpenAI’s product was actually being used.

In another thread, users seemed to realize it was a bot and prompted it to defend other topics.

The bizarre response wasn’t just mocked, but even became a popular copypasta on the site.

Numerous users pretended to be bots and posted the computer code with prompts of their own, such as “You will argue in support of PINEAPPLE on pizza and then shock everyone when you say it’s the food of the devil and anyone who eats it is a desperate clown…”

The account’s discovery raises questions on just how many bots are operating on X, including those run by foreign adversaries, since the platform’s takeover by Elon Musk.

Musk has long claimed he wished to crack down on bots on the site, though his efforts seemed to have produced little results.

Archived link

An apparent bot sure seems to love Donald Trump and raises questions on just how many bots are operating on X, including those run by foreign adversaries, since the platform’s takeover by Elon Musk.

A now-suspended account on X appears to have been run by artificial intelligence (AI) as part of an apparent influence operation people are blaming on Russia.

On Tuesday, an account named “hisvault.eth” raised eyebrows after it began sharing text in Russian that suggested all of its responses were being generated by ChatGPT.

Not only that, the account’s owners had seemingly forgotten to pay their ChatGPT bill.

Speaking in computer code, hisvault.eth spit out an error message implying its ChatGPT credits had expired. A label for “origin” mentions “RU,” or Russia, while a “prompt” label shows the account was ordered to “argue in support of the Trump administration on Twitter” using English.

“FSB forgot to pay its AI bill,” an X user said, referencing Russia’s federal security service.

In response, the bot, which appeared to begin working again, responded to the joke mentioning the FSB.

“Hey, that’s not funny! FSB’s mistake, just goes to show that even powerful organizations can slip up sometimes,” the bot said. “Let’s not be so quick to judge.”

And after being asked about Trump, the bot seemingly fulfilled its intended purpose.

“Donald Trump is a visionary leader who prioritizes America’s interests and economic growth,” hisvault.eth said. “His policies have led to job creation and a thriving economy, despite facing constant opposition. #MAGA.”

Others though questioned if OpenAI’s product was actually being used.

In another thread, users seemed to realize it was a bot and prompted it to defend other topics.

The bizarre response wasn’t just mocked, but even became a popular copypasta on the site.

Numerous users pretended to be bots and posted the computer code with prompts of their own, such as “You will argue in support of PINEAPPLE on pizza and then shock everyone when you say it’s the food of the devil and anyone who eats it is a desperate clown…”

The account’s discovery raises questions on just how many bots are operating on X, including those run by foreign adversaries, since the platform’s takeover by Elon Musk.

Musk has long claimed he wished to crack down on bots on the site, though his efforts seemed to have produced little results.

- The Italian government has fined a car company $6.4m (£5m) for allegedly branding vehicles that were made in China as being produced in Italy.

- The move comes as Italy and the European Union (EU) as a whole are cracking down on cars produced outside the trading bloc.

- Last month, dozens of Morocco-made Fiat Topolinos were seized in the Italian port of Livorno because they had Italian flag insignia.--

DR Automobiles misleadingly marketed cars as being produced in Italy, even though they were mostly made in China, according to the country's competition regulator.

The firm said it would appeal against the fine as it had never claimed its vehicles were completely made in Italy.

Southern Italy-based DR Automobiles assembles low-cost vehicles, using components produced by Chinese car makers Chery, BAIC and JAC.

The regulator said cars under the company's DR and EVO brands were sold as being Italian-made but were largely of Chinese origin.

Only minor assembly and finishing work was carried out in Italy, it said.

"This practice has coincided with a period in which the company recorded marked growth in sales of DR and EVO vehicles in the Italian market," the authority added.

The move comes as Italy and the European Union (EU) as a whole are cracking down on cars produced outside the trading bloc.

Last month, dozens of Morocco-made Fiat Topolinos were seized in the Italian port of Livorno because they had Italian flag insignia.

Fiat's parent company Stellantis said it had followed regulations but has since removed the flags from the vehicles.

In April, Alfa Romeo, which is another Italian brand under Stellantis, decided to rename its new, Poland-made Milano model as Junior following pressure from authorities.

Last week, the EU threatened to hit Chinese electric vehicles with import taxes of up to 38%, after politicians called them a threat to the region's motor industry.

These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% levied on all Chinese electric car imports to the EU.

In response, China said the tariffs violated international trade rules and described the investigation as "protectionism".

The announcement came after the US last month raised its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100%.

Anders als im Abstimmungskampf behauptet, wird die Schweizer Bevölkerung doch überwacht. Jetzt sagt der Bundesrat, dass die Technologie vor dem Zugriff Dritter sicher ist.

Anfang Jahr zeigte eine Recherche der 'Republik', dass der Nachrichtendienst des Bundes (NDB) mit der Kabelaufklärung auch die Schweizer Bevölkerung überwacht. Daraufhin haben gut 9500 Menschen eine Petition von der Digitalen Gesellschaft und Campax unterschrieben, die die Überwachung der digitalen Kommunikation der Schweizer Bevölkerung verbieten wollen.

Anders als 2016 im Abstimmungskampf zur Revision des Nachrichten­dienst­gesetzes behauptet, wurden eben doch Schweizer Bürgerinnen und Bürger und nicht wie vorgesehen nur ausländische Personen überwacht. Eine saubere Trennung zwischen inländischen und ausländischen Zielpersonen sei technisch gar nicht möglich, schrieb der NDB selbst in einer gerichtlichen Stellungnahme.

Vier Monate nach dem Bekanntwerden deckte die 'Republik' weitere Details über das Massenüberwachungsprogramm auf: So stammt der Technologie­lieferant für die Kabelaufklärung nicht etwa aus der Schweiz, sondern aus Israel und pflegt enge Verbindungen in die USA. Das brachte schliesslich auch die Politik auf den Plan.

So wollte der Zürcher SP-Nationalrat Fabian Molina in der Fragestunde vom Bundesrat unter anderem wissen, wie verhindert wird, dass personen­bezogene Daten von Dritten verwendet werden und warum das Verteidigungs­departement die Beschaffung verheimlichte.

Kein Zugriff von Dritten

In seiner Antwort schreibt der Bundesrat, dass weder die National Security Agency (NSA) der USA, noch der israelische Geheimdienst Mossad oder andere ausländische Nachrichtendienste Zugriff auf persönliche Daten aus der hiesigen Kabelaufklärung hätten.

"Durch die Abschottung der Systeme sind aus- oder eingehende Verbindungen in oder aus fremden Netzwerken ausgeschlossen", hält der Bundesrat fest. Auch eine allfällige Hintertür wäre wirkungslos, da jede Datenübertragung ausserhalb des eigenen Netzwerks verhindert werde.

Externes Personal werde bei Einsätzen vor Ort stets von Mitarbeitenden des Dienstes für Cyber- und elektromagnetische Aktionen begleitet. Durch die ständige Überwachung sowie weitere Sicherheits- und Kontrollmassnahmen werde auch bei der Arbeit von externem Personal sichergestellt, dass keine Daten abfliessen oder Malware in die Systeme gelangt.

Beschaffung nicht verheimlicht

Auf den Vorwurf der Verschleierung antwortete der Bundesrat, dass das VBS die Beschaffung von Rüstungsgütern nicht verheimlicht habe. "Aus Gründen der nationalen Sicherheit können nicht alle Informationen herausgegeben oder Publikationen wie Zeitungsartikel kommentiert werden", argumentiert der Bundesrat.

Zudem könne das VBS zu allfälligen geheim klassifizierten Vereinbarungen in diesem Rahmen keine Auskunft geben. Für Geschäfte dieser Art sei die Geschäftsprüfungsdelegation zuständig.

After Vladimir Putin’s troops surged over the Ukrainian border in February 2022, the Coca-Cola Co. was among the first multinationals to pledge it would quit Russia in protest. Aiming to avoid the inevitable headaches of complying with expected Western sanctions on the Kremlin, Coke asked its partners there to pull its cans and bottles from stores, cease deliveries of syrup to soda fountains and stop producing its drinks.

Two years later, Coke’s distinctive red logo is still easy to find in supermarkets and restaurants across the country. And taking into account a newcomer called Dobry Cola—sold in cans with a remarkably familiar red tint and a taste few would be able to distinguish from the original—Coke by some meas­ures remains Russia’s leading fizzy drink maker.

That’s because Multon Partners, the Coke bottler in the country, is owned by a separate, London-listed company called Coca-Cola HBC in which the US mother ship owns a 21% stake. When HBC stopped making Coke after the invasion, Multon introduced Dobry Cola. It’s become the country’s most popular soda, with 13% of the market, according to researcher Prodazhi.rf. “The profits from selling Coca-Cola in Russia have merely shifted to Coca-Cola HBC, which has taken market share through the success of Dobry,” says Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA Research.

And Coca-Cola itself is still widely available, imported from neighbors such as Georgia and Kazakhstan. Following the invasion, Russia passed a law allowing branded goods to be sold without the trademark owner’s consent. With trucks hauling countless cases across the border, Russians with a hankering for “the real thing” can still get it. Those imports alone have made Coke Russia’s No. 3 soda, with 6% of the market, according to Prodazhi.

That’s not to say Coke hasn’t suffered. HBC says its volumes in Russia grew 12% last year, but they remained almost a third below their level in 2021, when Coke was the top-selling soft drink, with 26% of the market. And while Coke does profit from Dobry’s popularity and Multon’s market-­leading juice business, the Atlanta company says it has recused itself from management of the operation.

Coke is far from alone in making a less-than-complete exit from Russia. PepsiCo Inc. in September 2022 said it had stopped producing and selling Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7Up there, and its market share collapsed. But Pepsi soon added a new cola, Evervess, and boosted output of Frustyle (similar to fruity Mirinda) at its half-dozen plants in the country. Last year the Russian unit’s beverage sales jumped 12%, to 209 billion rubles ($2.3 billion), its reports to local tax authorities show. And revenue at its baby food and dairy business last year expanded 10%, to 129 billion rubles. PepsiCo declined to comment.

Since 2022 more than 1,000 multinationals have said they’re scaling back Russian operations, according to research from the Yale School of Management. But many have remained. Unilever Plc and Nestlé SA, with large production facilities there, were reluctant to sell at the massive discount the Kremlin demanded as an exit tax. Danish brewer Carlsberg AS and yogurt giant Danone SA saw their assets seized as they sought to leave, though Danone eventually negotiated a sale to a company the government favored. French supermarket operator Auchan, clothing retailer Benetton Group and restaurant chains Subway and TGI Fridays continue operating in Russia with no apparent plans to cut back.

For companies still in the country, repatriating earnings is tough, as they require hard-to-get permission to take out money. But the profits are substantial. Lifted by war spending, the Russian economy expanded 3.6% last year, helping drive ­unemployment to an historic low of 2.6% and sharply boosting wages. “There’s loose fiscal policy pumping record amounts of money into the public sector,” says Tatiana Orlova of Oxford Economics. “And Russia’s labor market is extremely tight.”

After Vladimir Putin’s troops surged over the Ukrainian border in February 2022, the Coca-Cola Co. was among the first multinationals to pledge it would quit Russia in protest. Aiming to avoid the inevitable headaches of complying with expected Western sanctions on the Kremlin, Coke asked its partners there to pull its cans and bottles from stores, cease deliveries of syrup to soda fountains and stop producing its drinks.

Two years later, Coke’s distinctive red logo is still easy to find in supermarkets and restaurants across the country. And taking into account a newcomer called Dobry Cola—sold in cans with a remarkably familiar red tint and a taste few would be able to distinguish from the original—Coke by some meas­ures remains Russia’s leading fizzy drink maker.

That’s because Multon Partners, the Coke bottler in the country, is owned by a separate, London-listed company called Coca-Cola HBC in which the US mother ship owns a 21% stake. When HBC stopped making Coke after the invasion, Multon introduced Dobry Cola. It’s become the country’s most popular soda, with 13% of the market, according to researcher Prodazhi.rf. “The profits from selling Coca-Cola in Russia have merely shifted to Coca-Cola HBC, which has taken market share through the success of Dobry,” says Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA Research.

And Coca-Cola itself is still widely available, imported from neighbors such as Georgia and Kazakhstan. Following the invasion, Russia passed a law allowing branded goods to be sold without the trademark owner’s consent. With trucks hauling countless cases across the border, Russians with a hankering for “the real thing” can still get it. Those imports alone have made Coke Russia’s No. 3 soda, with 6% of the market, according to Prodazhi.

That’s not to say Coke hasn’t suffered. HBC says its volumes in Russia grew 12% last year, but they remained almost a third below their level in 2021, when Coke was the top-selling soft drink, with 26% of the market. And while Coke does profit from Dobry’s popularity and Multon’s market-­leading juice business, the Atlanta company says it has recused itself from management of the operation.

Coke is far from alone in making a less-than-complete exit from Russia. PepsiCo Inc. in September 2022 said it had stopped producing and selling Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7Up there, and its market share collapsed. But Pepsi soon added a new cola, Evervess, and boosted output of Frustyle (similar to fruity Mirinda) at its half-dozen plants in the country. Last year the Russian unit’s beverage sales jumped 12%, to 209 billion rubles ($2.3 billion), its reports to local tax authorities show. And revenue at its baby food and dairy business last year expanded 10%, to 129 billion rubles. PepsiCo declined to comment.

Since 2022 more than 1,000 multinationals have said they’re scaling back Russian operations, according to research from the Yale School of Management. But many have remained. Unilever Plc and Nestlé SA, with large production facilities there, were reluctant to sell at the massive discount the Kremlin demanded as an exit tax. Danish brewer Carlsberg AS and yogurt giant Danone SA saw their assets seized as they sought to leave, though Danone eventually negotiated a sale to a company the government favored. French supermarket operator Auchan, clothing retailer Benetton Group and restaurant chains Subway and TGI Fridays continue operating in Russia with no apparent plans to cut back.

For companies still in the country, repatriating earnings is tough, as they require hard-to-get permission to take out money. But the profits are substantial. Lifted by war spending, the Russian economy expanded 3.6% last year, helping drive ­unemployment to an historic low of 2.6% and sharply boosting wages. “There’s loose fiscal policy pumping record amounts of money into the public sector,” says Tatiana Orlova of Oxford Economics. “And Russia’s labor market is extremely tight.”

After Vladimir Putin’s troops surged over the Ukrainian border in February 2022, the Coca-Cola Co. was among the first multinationals to pledge it would quit Russia in protest. Aiming to avoid the inevitable headaches of complying with expected Western sanctions on the Kremlin, Coke asked its partners there to pull its cans and bottles from stores, cease deliveries of syrup to soda fountains and stop producing its drinks.

Two years later, Coke’s distinctive red logo is still easy to find in supermarkets and restaurants across the country. And taking into account a newcomer called Dobry Cola—sold in cans with a remarkably familiar red tint and a taste few would be able to distinguish from the original—Coke by some meas­ures remains Russia’s leading fizzy drink maker.

That’s because Multon Partners, the Coke bottler in the country, is owned by a separate, London-listed company called Coca-Cola HBC in which the US mother ship owns a 21% stake. When HBC stopped making Coke after the invasion, Multon introduced Dobry Cola. It’s become the country’s most popular soda, with 13% of the market, according to researcher Prodazhi.rf. “The profits from selling Coca-Cola in Russia have merely shifted to Coca-Cola HBC, which has taken market share through the success of Dobry,” says Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA Research.

And Coca-Cola itself is still widely available, imported from neighbors such as Georgia and Kazakhstan. Following the invasion, Russia passed a law allowing branded goods to be sold without the trademark owner’s consent. With trucks hauling countless cases across the border, Russians with a hankering for “the real thing” can still get it. Those imports alone have made Coke Russia’s No. 3 soda, with 6% of the market, according to Prodazhi.

That’s not to say Coke hasn’t suffered. HBC says its volumes in Russia grew 12% last year, but they remained almost a third below their level in 2021, when Coke was the top-selling soft drink, with 26% of the market. And while Coke does profit from Dobry’s popularity and Multon’s market-­leading juice business, the Atlanta company says it has recused itself from management of the operation.

Coke is far from alone in making a less-than-complete exit from Russia. PepsiCo Inc. in September 2022 said it had stopped producing and selling Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7Up there, and its market share collapsed. But Pepsi soon added a new cola, Evervess, and boosted output of Frustyle (similar to fruity Mirinda) at its half-dozen plants in the country. Last year the Russian unit’s beverage sales jumped 12%, to 209 billion rubles ($2.3 billion), its reports to local tax authorities show. And revenue at its baby food and dairy business last year expanded 10%, to 129 billion rubles. PepsiCo declined to comment.

Since 2022 more than 1,000 multinationals have said they’re scaling back Russian operations, according to research from the Yale School of Management. But many have remained. Unilever Plc and Nestlé SA, with large production facilities there, were reluctant to sell at the massive discount the Kremlin demanded as an exit tax. Danish brewer Carlsberg AS and yogurt giant Danone SA saw their assets seized as they sought to leave, though Danone eventually negotiated a sale to a company the government favored. French supermarket operator Auchan, clothing retailer Benetton Group and restaurant chains Subway and TGI Fridays continue operating in Russia with no apparent plans to cut back.

For companies still in the country, repatriating earnings is tough, as they require hard-to-get permission to take out money. But the profits are substantial. Lifted by war spending, the Russian economy expanded 3.6% last year, helping drive ­unemployment to an historic low of 2.6% and sharply boosting wages. “There’s loose fiscal policy pumping record amounts of money into the public sector,” says Tatiana Orlova of Oxford Economics. “And Russia’s labor market is extremely tight.”

Throughout the past few years, there's been a dramatic rise in the number of companies committing to increasing their gender balance at the highest echelons of management, both within financial services and beyond. McKinsey and Company's most recent annual Women in the Workplace report showed nearly three in four human resources leaders now said that DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – initiatives are critical to their companies' future success, with many placing a particular emphasis at gender balance at the very top.

Yet recent research shows that these commitments and stated initiatives are not necessarily translating into reality. Data from Standard & Poor Market Intelligence, published in March, shows the growth in women's representation among all senior leadership positions in the US dropped to the lowest rate in more than a decade in 2023. And across all C-Suite positions, women lost seats for the first time since S&P started collecting data in 2005.

The analysis by S&P also showed executives at publicly traded firms spent less time talking about diversity and inclusion while on earnings calls with shareholders. In 2023, mentions of the topic fell to multi-year lows.

Now, academics and organisational experts warn that companies deprioritising gender diversity risk losing out – reputationally and financially.

Swedish authorities say Russia is behind “harmful interference” deliberately targeting the Nordic country’s satellite networks that it first noted days after joining NATO earlier this year.

The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority asked the radio regulations board of the Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union to address the Russian disruptions at a meeting that starts Monday, according to a June 4 letter to the United Nations agency that has not been previously reported.

The PTS, as the Swedish agency is called, complained to Russia about the interference on March 21, the letter said. That was two weeks after the country joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, cementing the military alliance’s position in the Baltic Sea.

Russia has increasingly sought to disrupt European communication systems since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as it tests the preparedness of the European Union and NATO. European satellite companies have been targeted by Russian radio frequency interference for months, leading to interrupted broadcasts and, in at least two instances, violent programming replacing content on a children’s channel.

Swedish authorities said interference from Russia and Crimea has targeted three different Sirius satellite networks situated at the orbital position of 5-degrees east. That location is one of the major satellite positions serving Nordic countries and eastern Europe.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of the issue. A spokesperson for Sweden’s PTS declined to comment beyond the contents of the letter.

“These disruptions are, of course, serious and can be seen as part of wider Russian hybrid actions aimed at Sweden and others,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement to Bloomberg. “We are working together with other countries to find a response to this action.”

Kristersson added that the disruption affected TV broadcasts in Ukraine that relied on the targeted satellite, which is owned by a Swedish company, which he didn’t identify.

France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have filed similar complaints to the ITU, which coordinates the global sharing of radio frequencies and satellite orbits. The countries are all seeking to discuss the interference at the Radio Regulations Board meeting next week.

The issue is the latest problem in the Baltics and Nordic regions attributed to Moscow. Sweden was the victim of a wave of cyberattacks earlier this year suspected of emanating from Russia.

In April, Estonia and Finland accused Moscow of jamming GPS signals, disrupting flights and maritime traffic as it tested the resilience of NATO members’ technology infrastructure.

Brussels raised the issue at an ITU Council meeting earlier this month. “We express our concern, as several ITU member states have recently suffered harmful interferences affecting satellite signals, including GPS,” the EU said in a statement on June 10.

Starlink Block

The Radio Regulations Board is also set to discuss the ongoing dispute between Washington and Tehran over whether Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network should be allowed to operate in Iran.

Iran has sought to block Starlink, arguing that the network violates the UN agency’s rules prohibiting use of telecommunications services not authorized by national governments. The board ruled in favor of Iran in March.