Government to develop program to restore warehouses damaged by attacks

A bill submitted to the State Duma sets fines of up to 1 million rubles for individuals and entities that fail to comply with decisions by governors or emergency/defense HQs; Kommersant reported it in parallel.

The Russian government submitted to the State Duma for ratification an intergovernmental agreement on space cooperation with Myanmar.

The Central Election Commission said 55 countries confirmed observers for the 9th State Duma elections (voting Sept 18–20).

PM Mishustin said he expects the new Duma to consider extending repayment deadlines for regional budget loans.

The MOEX index fell to about 2120 points amid geopolitics and ruble strengthening.

Central bank data: Russia's international reserves increased by $15.6 billion during Aug 7–14.

The central bank cut gold reserves by another 0.2 million ounces in July; money supply rose 0.6% in July, with annual growth down to 13%.

The US extended the general license allowing the disposal of Lukoil's US assets until Sept 19.

Russia's Grain Union lowered its 2026 wheat export forecast by 2.5 million tons to 45.2 million tons.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Finland's transfer of weapons to Ukraine makes them a legitimate military target for Russia.

Moscow said it is still awaiting US and Turkish responses on possible arms supplies to Ukraine, and welcomed Trump's decision to scale down US–South Korea joint drills.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said Russia is the “sole guarantor” of Ukraine's sovereignty.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it expects a “substantial package” of commercial contracts to be signed at the Russia–Africa summit.

Finland accused a Russian aircraft of violating its airspace; Moscow has not commented yet.

In St. Petersburg, a car drove onto the sidewalk on Nevsky Prospect, injuring pedestrians.

Moscow police arrested a man who embezzled 17 million rubles under the guise of investments.

Rosfinmonitoring added a 14-year-old Barnaul resident to the list of terrorists and extremists, drawing public attention.

Russia's Defense Ministry reported on the evening of Aug 20 neutralizing 64 drones during the day; airports in Volgograd, Penza, Saratov and Kaluga suspended operations, Vnukovo switched to “by agreement” mode. An attack in Crimea killed 2 (Kommersant confirms); in Sevastopol a mother and her two-year-old child were injured; in Ulyanovsk one person died of wounds; in the DPR three were injured.

A power emergency in Dagestan left more than 120,000 residents and 12 villages without electricity; repair work continues.

Rosatom said it is negotiating the construction of reactor units with 15 countries, expanding its nuclear export.

Strikes on Wildberries-Russ warehouse facilities affected over 100 local St. Petersburg manufacturers, showing the spillover of the attacks on Russian supply chains.

Russian data: revenue from beef exports to China reached $80.2 million in the first 7 months of 2026, up 1.4x year-on-year.

Scientists recorded another strong flare on the Sun.

13 Russian boxers advanced to the finals of the European Boxing Championships.

Jovan Savovich, founder of the well-known Russian online community “Lepra,” has died.

Sevastopol continues QR-code plus free fuel sales on Aug 21; CBR official rate on Aug 20: USD 85.1293 / EUR 98.5457 / CNY 12.6301; on the MOEX the ruble strengthened against the yuan as exporters prepared for the tax period.

Vladimir Putin instructed the cabinet to develop a program to restore warehouse and logistics facilities damaged by drone strikes; preferential loans and compensation for repair/construction costs are expected. Mostly Wildberries warehouses were hit, some (e.g. Samara region) burned down completely; total area and damage not yet disclosed.

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) proposed additional support for entrepreneurs whose goods were damaged in attacks on RVB (Wildberries + Russ) warehouses: tax breaks and deferrals of credit obligations via the operator's financial services and partner banks. Goods from damaged warehouses were temporarily pulled from sale; financial aid, storage discounts, free transit shipments and credit deferrals are in place.

An RSPP digital-platform committee meeting discussed lowering/freezing the tax burden on affected sellers (tax deferrals and installments), preferential lending, a loan-repayment moratorium, lighter admin inspections, and writing off the value of lost goods as expenses. The head of the Digital Platforms Association said the Central Bank already supported the tax-holiday initiative; the proposal will go to the government.

Bank of Russia official rate: 1 CNY = 12.4057 RUB (effective 21.08.2026). Reference for cross-border sellers calculating proceeds and pricing. Note: listed as a reference, not an 20.08 news event.