[Update] Ingosstrakh pays Ozon sellers RUB 8.2bn: first wave covered …

Voting began in Russia's eighth State Duma election on Sept. 18 and runs through Sept. 20. Vladimir Putin cast his ballot at 14:48 Moscow time. The Central Election Commission said the first day proceeded calmly.

Putin signed a decree extending special measures to ensure Russia's economic security through Dec. 31, 2028. The measures were introduced in response to Western sanctions.

Putin signed a decree extending the food embargo against a number of Western countries through 2027–2028. The ban has been in place since 2014 and has been extended repeatedly.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied media reports of plans to mobilize 300,000 people by year-end, calling them "completely unfounded."

US President Donald Trump signed a new sanctions law against Russia that Russian media called "hellish." The law, previously passed by Congress, provides for secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Russia commented on the new EU sanctions package, saying it would take mirror measures. Moscow also accused the EU of closing its eyes to Kiev's attacks on nuclear facilities.

Putin said Russia is ready to restore relations with Europe if the European side shows willingness. He also criticized the West for using Ukraine.

Putin said at an economic meeting that Russia's federal budget was executed with a surplus of 0.6 trillion rubles in August 2026, inflation is falling, GDP is growing and unemployment is near historic lows.

The Russian government placed Auchan and Nestle assets in Russia under temporary external management. The Kremlin said the decision was based on law and in the national interest; Nestle said it intended to continue operating in Russia.

Influenced by the central bank's high key rate, Russian banks are raising ruble deposit rates; some institutions have lifted them close to or above the key rate.

The Russian government decided to impose an inspection moratorium for businesses affected by drone attacks until 2027 to help them recover. The banking community also called for additional support for affected businesses.

Tax authorities asked a court to initiate bankruptcy of a major ice cream producer. The company is accused of a large tax debt; bankruptcy could affect product supplies in the Russian market.

A Moscow court arrested former Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikiforov in absentia on charges of large-scale fraud.

The Stratosphere ride at VDNKh stopped during operation; 14 visitors were stuck at height. Rescuers evacuated everyone in about 20 minutes.

A fire broke out in the building of the St. Petersburg State University School of Journalism; firefighters arrived at the scene. No casualties have been reported so far.

Overnight Sept. 18–19, Russian air defenses shot down up to 29 drones on approach to Moscow. Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports temporarily restricted flights or operated by coordination before returning to normal.

In Yelets, Lipetsk region, residents of some homes were evacuated after drone debris fell on the site of a former oil depot. The Russian Defense Ministry called it part of a Ukrainian drone attack.

A fire broke out at a refinery in Slavyansk district, Krasnodar Krai, after a drone attack, covering several hundred square meters. Firefighters extinguished the blaze; no casualties were reported.

Soyuzmultfilm announced it is developing films based on the animated series "Vovka in the Faraway Kingdom" and "Shaybu! Shaybu!" The studio is actively reviving Soviet animation brands.

On 18 September Ingosstrakh said the first insurance payout wave was complete: about 90,000 Ozon sellers received RUB 8.2bn in total. Transfers began on 15 September with a 50,000-seller first tranche; the rest were paid the next day, into the settlement accounts sellers listed in their Ozon dashboards. The first wave covers only goods stored at Chapayevsk (Samara region), Makhachkala (Dagestan) and Enem (Adygea); the insurer called it one of the largest and fastest settlement projects on the Russian market. What this means for Chinese sellers: payouts are real but limited to three warehouses — Taganrog, Rostov and Saratov are not yet included, so do not plan cash flow as if everything has been settled.

On 18 September the RWB press office said Wildberries will launch a third stage of support payouts from 1 October for sellers whose goods were damaged in drone attacks on its logistics facilities, covering more than 200,000 people. The company says the stage should reach every affected SME seller and will be the largest since the attacks began; sellers will receive personal notifications in their dashboard on payout days. Context: analysts estimated Wildberries may have lost up to 22% of its logistics infrastructure, the Finance Ministry granted a tax deferral, and as of end-July total payouts were just over RUB 40m, with sellers still complaining about delays and asking the government to supervise the process. What this means for Chinese sellers: payouts are shifting from piecemeal to mass coverage, but they start on 1 October with no per-seller amount disclosed, so Q4 cash flow should still be planned as if the money has not arrived.

On 18 September the Wildberries Kazakhstan press office said the search at the Almaty logistics centre construction site stemmed from a dispute between the contractor and subcontractor, is unrelated to the company own operations and will not affect the build. Kazakhstan law enforcement opened a criminal case, inspected and sealed equipment; after the investor appealed, the Prosecutor General office intervened, found no criminal element and closed the case, while disciplinary action was initiated against officials behind the unlawful prosecution and pressure on the business. What this means for Chinese sellers: the Central Asia warehouse build is not stalled, so the local-warehouse plus cross-border combination can be planned as before; but local construction disputes can turn into temporary equipment seizure, so keep a timing buffer.

Through 18 September Russian air defences reported 629 drones downed overnight. Airports saw a knock-on effect: Sochi suspended operations for the third time in a day (22:42), resumed together with Domodedovo at 19:36, then went back to coordinated mode under fresh restrictions; Kazan, Cheboksary and Vnukovo also imposed and lifted restrictions during the day. A day earlier 328 drones had been reported destroyed since morning. What this means for Chinese sellers: airport restrictions in Russia have become routine rather than occasional, so air-freighted samples, urgent parcels and restock orders need a 1–2 day buffer; if pre-peak inventory sits on the air leg, rush fees and storage will eat the margin, so move whatever can go by rail or truck off air freight.

On 18 September the government submitted bill No. 1342008-8 to the State Duma amending the Civil Code creditor-protection mechanism for reorganisations: if the debtor proves the reorganisation poses no "substantial threat" to timely performance, courts must reject creditor demands for early performance — early loan repayment or payment for goods delivered and work performed. Creditors already holding sufficient collateral (pledge, bank guarantee) cannot demand early performance anyway. The bill implements a Constitutional Court ruling but extends its logic from bonds to all civil-law obligations. Lawyers note "substantial threat" remains an evaluative concept, so court practice may be uneven. What this means for Chinese sellers: this shifts payment-term risk with Russian counterparties (suppliers, 3PLs, platform affiliates) — demanding early settlement when they reorganise becomes harder, so protect yourself with collateral, guarantees or acceleration clauses.

On 18 September Auchan Retail Russia press office said it had filed a request for clarification over the presidential decree transferring the company to external management and would comment in more detail once it receives a reply; it stressed that Auchan and all its facilities continue operating normally with no changes. The Kremlin said the same day that one factor behind the decision to place Nestlé, Auchan, former Leroy Merlin (Lemana Pro) and FM Logistic under the temporary management of L.E.V. Management was their ownership by unfriendly states actively involved in hostilities against Russia. The Swiss government expressed concern over the Nestlé assets. What this means for Chinese sellers: these are key nodes of Russian retail and 3PL — FM Logistic runs 25 warehouses with 830k transport operations a year and Lemana Pro is a major DIY player; supplies and store sales continue for now, but watch payment terms, rebates and 3PL rates, since a management change can trigger renegotiation of contracts and settlement windows.

On 18 September Kommersant, citing Evotor, reported H1 2026 sales of glucometers up 18% y/y, test strips +34%, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems +43% and lancets +64%. Pharmacy channels grew more slowly (DSM Group: glucometers +10% to 551,200 units, test strips +3% to 4.1m packs), with the gap explicitly attributed to demand migrating to marketplaces and non-specialist retail: Wildberries said glucometer unit sales rose 63% and test strips 53%, 36.6 saw CGM and accessories up 2.6x, and Zdravcity reported CGM volumes up 7x and value up 11x. On price: the average pharmacy glucometer cost RUB 1,700 (-8.2% y/y) and a pack of strips RUB 1,300 (+1%), as new Chinese and Russian products entered the market. What this means for Chinese sellers: this is already a volume-for-price category; Chinese CGM and strips have an opening but expect thin margins — build moats around consumable repeat purchases and medical-device registration.

Autostat data: Russian used-car sales fell 8.4% y/y in August to 518,200 units, down 5.6% m/m — a second consecutive monthly decline — with 3.95m sold in January–August. Dealers blame the fuel crisis, high used-car prices and tight credit, noting some buyers only want European brands and are not ready to switch to Chinese cars; ROAD calls it a seasonal demand redistribution rather than a trend reversal. Lada leads (113,300 units, -17.7%), followed by Toyota (56,800) and Kia (30,500); eight of ten brands are down. Notably, Chinese brands collectively ranked fifth on the used market in August with 36,400 ownership transfers, led by Chery, Geely, Haval, Changan and Exeed, with top models including Changan UNI-K, Geely Monjaro, Exeed VX, Haval Jolion and Omoda C5; the market expects a rebound to 540,000 in September. What this means for Chinese sellers: the Chinese car fleet in Russia has entered the second-hand cycle, pulling demand for spare parts, maintenance consumables and automotive electronics — a sourcing window for used and compatible parts is opening.

On 18 September the Central Bank cut official rates effective 19 September: USD 84.1975 (-31.18 kopecks), EUR 96.6671 (-83.13), CNY 12.5670 (-1.18). The exchange-traded yuan closed at 12.582 at 19:00, just 0.7 kopecks above the previous close. Gazprombank chief economist Pavel Biryukov noted the ruble traded in a narrow 12.45–12.6 band this week, with the quarterly FX futures expiry on Thursday 17 September briefly pushing it to 12.64 before the move faded. CBR data shows August ruble depreciation accelerated to 6.9% m/m from 5.5% in July, hitting 12.73 per yuan — the weakest since February 2025 — due to a $2.9bn drop in total FX supply, mainly lower exporter sales. Banks forecast next week at USD 83–85, EUR 96–98, CNY 12.3–12.8, with the tax period potentially supporting the ruble. What this means for Chinese sellers: the ruble is hovering near 12.5, so the conversion window is not bad, but forecasts down to 12.3 mean downside remains — convert large receipts in tranches rather than at a single point.

Reporting the 19 September rates, Interfax disclosed that because ruble/euro turnover on the domestic FX market is too low for a direct daily calculation from actual conversion operations to remain representative, the Central Bank has since 8 June 2026 been setting the official EUR/RUB rate from the USD/RUB rate and the European Central Bank EUR/USD fixing at 15:30 Moscow time on the current business day. What this means for Chinese sellers: the official euro rate is now effectively a cross rate and no longer reflects real euro trading inside Russia; if you use the CBR rate for eurozone procurement or reconciliation, the gap versus actual transaction prices may be wider than before — rely on exchange or bank quotes instead.

Central Bank data: Russia M2 grew 1% m/m in August 2026 to RUB 137.1tn (July +0.6%), with the annual rate on 1 September easing to 12.8% from 13% on 1 August; broad money excluding FX revaluation (M2X) slowed to 12.2%. Cash M0 rose 1.9% in August to RUB 20.7tn, with annual growth up to 20.9% from 20.2% a month earlier. Bank claims on firms and households remain the main source of money supply: claims on organisations rose RUB 1.7tn in August and on households RUB 0.2tn (mostly mortgages). The CBR also announced that from September data onward it will calculate FX revaluation against a currency basket and changes in precious-metal accounting prices rather than the dollar alone. What this means for Chinese sellers: slowing money supply alongside rising cash holdings signals weakening consumer momentum and a preference to hold cash, so trim Q4 promotion conversion expectations and do not budget much room for price increases.

Russia equity market closed higher on 18 September: the ruble-denominated MOEX Index gained 1.3% to 2,278.06 and the dollar-denominated RTS added 1.67% to 852.33, with the yuan edging up to 12.58 against the ruble. Forecasts for Monday 21 September: BCS sees the dollar at 83–85 and the yuan at 12.3–12.6; Freedom Global projects the MOEX Index in a 2,250–2,350 range with the dollar at 83–85, euro at 96–98 and yuan at 12.4–12.8; Tsifra Broker expects the tax period to support the ruble, pushing rates toward the lower end of ranges. What this means for Chinese sellers: a stronger index together with a steady ruble means no near-term FX panic, but the wide projected yuan band (12.3–12.8) shows volatility persists — use a 12.6–12.8 midpoint for quarterly profit modelling.