BERLIN – German authorities say they have seized a huge superyacht in Hamburg after finding it to belong to the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
The Federal Criminal Police Service said on Wednesday that, after “extensive investigations” and despite “offshore concealment”, it was able to determine that the owner was Gulbakhor Ismailova, Usmanov’s sister.
The Superyacht Dilbar is flagged in the Cayman Islands and is listed on a portfolio company in Malta, two banking paradises where the world’s super-rich often park their wealth.  It was released in 2016 at a reported cost of over US $ 648 million.
The German police office said German authorities had worked in Brussels to ensure that European Union sanctions would be applied to the owner.  He says the yacht can no longer be sold, rented or loaded.
The United States and the European Union announced last month economic sanctions against Usmanov, a metal tycoon, for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
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PRAGUE – Three Czech lawmakers from the upper house of parliament, the Senate, are visiting Kyiv with their Polish counterparts.  Led by Speaker Milos Vystrcil, they were invited by Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
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UNITED NATIONS – A UN special team warns in a new report that Russia’s war against Ukraine threatens to wreak havoc on the economies of many developing countries, which now face even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult economic conditions.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented the report Wednesday, stressing that the war “over-indebted” a crisis in food, energy and funding to poorer countries already struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and lack of access. in sufficient funding for their financial recovery.
Rebecca Greenspan, secretary-general of the UN Office for the Coordination of Trade and Development, who co-ordinated the task force, said 107 countries were “seriously exposed” to at least one dimension of the food, energy and economic crisis and 69 were severely exposed. all three and face “very difficult economic conditions without fiscal space and without external financing to mitigate the blow.”
The report urges countries to ensure a steady flow of food and energy through open markets and calls on international financial institutions to do everything possible to ensure greater liquidity immediately.
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ODESSA, Ukraine – In the Odessa region of Ukraine, Governor Maksym Marchenko says forces hit the Russian Moskva guided missile with two missiles and caused “serious damage”.
Moscow is the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the ship was damaged on Wednesday, but not that it was hit by Ukraine.
The ministry said the ammunition on board was fired as a result of a fire, the causes of which had been “identified” and the entire Moskva crew was evacuated.  The cruiser usually has about 500 passengers.
Odessa is the largest port in Ukraine.
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KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is “sincerely grateful” to the United States for a new round of $ 800 million in military aid.
In his daily midnight address to the nation, Zelensky also said he was grateful for Wednesday’s visit by the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
He said that these leaders “helped us from day one, those who did not hesitate to give us weapons, those who did not question whether they would impose sanctions”.
In a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden, Zelensky said they discussed a new arms shipment, even tougher sanctions against Russia and efforts to bring to justice Russian soldiers who committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Zelensky also said work was under way to clear tens of thousands of unexploded ordnance, mines and wires left behind by retreating Russians in northern Ukraine.
He urged people returning to their homes in these cities to be careful with any unknown object and report it to the police.
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