Wildberries and Rosgosstrakh launch goods insurance against UAV attac…

Mishustin signed a government order on Aug 18 exercising the 'golden share' in Sheremetyevo, implementing Putin's Aug 6 decree (removed from strategic list, privatization allowed but with core-activity preservation and foreign-sale ban).

Russia's Justice Ministry added the online outlet 'Mediazona' to the foreign agents register on Aug 21.

Building on the Aug 20 Duma bill (fines up to 1 mln rubles for ignoring governor/HQ decisions), the government on Aug 21 proposed fining non-compliance with operational headquarters decisions.

CBR official rate Aug 21: USD 83.3550 / EUR 96.7335 / CNY 12.4057 — up about 1.8% vs Aug 20 (85.1293 / 98.5457 / 12.6301) against all three currencies.

The MOEX index closed around 2135 points on Aug 21, recovering modestly from the prior day’s low.

Bitcoin rose 23% over the week to its highest since mid-May, as markets heat up ahead of the Sept 1 crypto law.

Russian insurers’ H1 net profit fell 28.4% (industry statistics).

Russian Grain Union monitoring: Aug 1–20 exports ~1.4 mln t (−2.5x YoY, wheat −2.6x), mainly due to disrupted shipping and damaged ports in the Azov-Black Sea basin. August total may be just 1.8–1.9 mln t, a 10-year low.

Agriculture Ministry: wheat export duty rises to 1,012.1 rub/tonne from Aug 26 to Sep 1 (from 721.1, +1.4x); corn duty to 607.3 rub/tonne, barley stays at zero.

Putin's spokesman Peskov said Polish PM Tusk's defense of the Nord Stream sabotage provokes only 'amazement and incomprehension', calling the pipeline bombing a terrorist act against Europe's energy infrastructure.

The deputy foreign ministers of Russia and Vietnam discussed preparations for a bilateral summit by phone.

The Russian government allowed citizens missing one arm or one leg to drive trucks and buses.

The Emergencies Ministry said on Aug 21 that over 4.7 bln rubles have been paid to more than 120,000 citizens in Dagestan and Chechnya after the March–April floods; housing assessments are complete. The floods killed 6, injured 6,200+, and flooded 9,825 homes.

A bus accident in the Leningrad region left at least 13 injured; separately, a bus overturned on a highway the same day, injuring 7.

The Defense Ministry said 211 fixed-wing drones were intercepted Aug 21 08:00–20:00 over Belgorod, Bryansk, Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Smolensk, Ryazan, Vladimir, Moscow region, Crimea and the Black Sea. Sochi, Gelendzhik and Tambov airports briefly closed, Vnukovo went to "by agreement" mode, Kaluga restrictions later lifted. In Perm region a drone hit an industrial site, 1 lightly wounded, 16 drones downed.

DNR head Pushilin said Aug 21 Ukrainian strike-drone attacks killed 3 civilians (including a teenager) and wounded 13, damaging 2 homes, 6 civilian infrastructure sites and vehicles.

The government said on Aug 21 that mazut pumping from the tankers "Volgoneft-212/239" that sank in the Kerch Strait in Dec 2024 (damage ~85 bln rubles) is complete, confirmed by a commission; 111 Anapa beaches got sanitary permits. Owners were ordered to pay ~85 bln rubles.

Two people were injured in the Murmansk region by the explosion of an unidentified object.

Tatneft's JV with China's Ningxia Herun, 'Biometionine', began building a DL-methionine plant in the 'Green Valley' SEZ; investment ~130 bln rubles (incl. a preferential loan), capacity ~100k t/year. Deputy PM Patrushev said it will fully cover domestic demand and boost high-value exports.

VK filed a lawsuit against Apple in the Moscow Arbitration Court on Aug 19 (seeking restoration of its apps in the App Store, push notifications and a penalty); Apple removed VK and the Max messenger without warning in June. Max and VK have been under EU sanctions since mid-July and removed from Google Play.

World Triathlon admitted Russian athletes to compete under the RF flag and anthem (previously mostly neutral status).

In their first appearances after ISU's readmission, Russia's Fefelova/Valov won junior GP ice dance, and Sofia Dzepka won her stage.

Russian gymnast Zaika won silver in the rings at the European Championships.

Wildberries, with Rosgosstrakh, launched voluntary insurance for sellers' goods stored in partner fulfillment centers (ПФЦ) against total loss from terrorist acts/sabotage, including UAV strikes and falling debris. Sellers can enable/disable it in their dashboard; the rate is 0.01%/day of goods value in ПФЦ. Context: on Aug 14 the Digital Platforms Association (АЦП) proposed government support measures for affected sellers.

Yandex announced that sellers without their own online store can list products in the 'Alisa AI' chat and Yandex search; buyers checkout via the unified 'Buy in one click' without leaving the chat. Onboarding is via a request to 'Yandex Goods' and a simplified 'Yandex KIT' cabinet (free for now); delivery is self-managed or via CDEK/PEK/Dalli, or platform logistics.

The Ozon, Ozon Fresh and Ozon Travel apps are available again on Google Play. Earlier, on Aug 15, Ozon confirmed its other apps were removed (saying it violated no rules and app stores are not under sanctions); the web version needs Russian security certificates, the mobile app does not. Positive for sellers reliant on mobile traffic.

Wildberries began accepting applications to open partner goods-acceptance points (ППТ): partners earn fees for receiving/processing FBW and FBS shipments and seller returns, per box like a pickup point; returns held over 3 days in the processing center get extra temporary-storage pay. Site requirements: ≥100 m², easy access and parking, ≥5 CCTV cameras, PC/tablet, scanner, table. Context: after attacks on central warehouses, WB is distributing acceptance/fulfillment nodes to third-party sites — a concrete step in logistics recovery.

Sber first deputy chairman Alexander Vedyakhin said Russia's largest marketplaces have already 'found' the right approach to protecting their warehouses from drone strikes. This indirectly confirms that, after repeated attacks, physical warehouse protection has become a priority for platforms and major banks. Specific measures were not disclosed.

Several online retailers and services warned customers of possible payment failures via foreign browsers (Chrome, Safari, Opera, Firefox, Edge), recommending Yandex Browser, the app, or Russia's Faster Payments System (СБП). The cause is Russia's switch to domestic security certificates used in foreign search engines. Independent/cross-border sellers whose checkout runs through foreign browsers should advise buyers to use a Russian browser or СБП.

The CBR set official rates effective 21.08.2026: 1 CNY = 12.4057 RUB (weaker from 12.6301 on 20.08), 1 USD = 83.3550 RUB. Vedomosti reported the 'dollar below 83' (a quoting-basis difference). Cross-border sellers should use CBR official rates for settlement and pricing; the yuan weakened slightly day-on-day.