Ozon puts drone-attack losses at 30.1 billion roubles across 11 logis…

First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said on 28 October during a government hour in the Federation Council that Russia preferential auto loan programme will resume on 1 December, funded from financial limits earmarked for 2027. He said the Industry and Trade Ministry and the Finance Ministry jointly proposed restarting the programme and the government backed the initiative, without figures on its scope.

According to the State Duma budget and taxes committee conclusion on the 2027–2029 federal budget draft, Russia may introduce an additional aviation levy from 2027 to offset leasing and operating costs of 258 domestically produced aircraft. The envisaged rate is 500 roubles per domestic ticket paid by passengers and 1,000 roubles per international direction paid by airlines. Proceeds would support deliveries of MC-21, Tu-214, SSJ-NEW and Il-114-300 aircraft under a Rostec programme; the mechanism is drafted by the Industry and Trade Ministry on presidential instruction with the Transport Ministry as operator. No annual total was given.

US President Donald Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will be organised in the near future, voicing hope of major progress soon on settling the Ukraine conflict. He gave no dates. Moscow and Washington had earlier agreed to resume trilateral Ukraine talks, with the first expected in Abu Dhabi in November in what Yuri Ushakov described as a probing round.

Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on 28 October that dates for resuming Russia–US–Ukraine trilateral talks will depend on the situation, including on the battlefield, recalling that the previous round was disrupted by the Ukrainian side. Vladimir Putin confirmed Moscow readiness to resume the talks when meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff; Ushakov had earlier said they could take place in Abu Dhabi in the first ten days of November.

Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on 28 October in comments to Channel One that Denmark, Estonia and several other European countries reacted hysterically to the call that Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made to Vladimir Putin. He said developing ties with Norway and Finland serves Russian interests. The 27 October conversation was initiated by the European side from Helsinki and covered settlement of the Ukraine conflict; Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later voiced scepticism about the initiative.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the modern world has entered an era of uncertainty with no consensus among politicians or experts on its future. He said countries increasingly level unfounded accusations at one another and major powers face a deep crisis of mutual trust, while UN authority is going through an unprecedented crisis and the role of international law has noticeably declined. He also cited unmanaged migration flows affecting Europe. The article does not specify the venue or exact time of the remarks.

Vladimir Putin said on 28 October at a Kremlin reception for participants of the third Russia–Africa summit that Russia and African countries are firmly set on developing mutually beneficial ties. He said those gathered included heads of state and government, leading politicians and representatives of African integration bodies, and the sides intend to expand ties in the economy, politics, security and cultural and humanitarian fields. He had earlier called Africa the continent of the future at the GECF summit and said Russia is promoting a BRICS investment platform for fast-growing markets where Africa should be in the front ranks.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a meeting with Vladimir Putin that he would like to agree on cooperation in the nuclear field and make it a priority area, while continuing specialist training and securing access to medical isotopes. He said nuclear energy is used not only in power generation but also in healthcare and represents serious potential for fighting poverty and raising power output. The third Russia–Africa summit and economic and humanitarian forum are held in Moscow on 28–29 October.

According to Interfax, most Western European stock indices closed higher on Tuesday: the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5% to 643.68 points, while Britain FTSE 100 lost 0.8%, Germany DAX gained 0.7%, France CAC 40 0.5%, Italy FTSE MIB 0.9% and Spain IBEX 35 0.7%. Investors weighed quarterly corporate results and followed protest developments in France. Austrian circuit board maker AT&S led gains (+11.5%) and Finnish engineering group Wartsila fell most (-8.3%). Porsche AG market value rose 3.8% and Mercedes-Benz fell 3.9%. French consumer confidence fell to 80 points in October, its lowest since June 2013, against 85 in September.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta, citing US Treasury data, reports that US sovereign debt stood at 40.52 trillion dollars as of 26 October, a new record. US debt first exceeded 38 trillion dollars in October 2025 and 40 trillion in August 2026, a 20 trillion increase in under a decade. The Peterson Institute estimates that without spending or tax reforms the debt could reach 50 trillion dollars within six years.

From the next school year ninth-graders face a new oral history exam required for admission to the basic state exam, alongside the existing final oral interview. The education watchdog approved three formats: paper tasks with a history teacher who may ask follow-up questions; paper tasks administered by any teaching staff member who listens but asks no questions; and a computer-based version with tasks on screen and no follow-up questions. Audio recording is used in all three. In October–November 2026 at least 4,000 ninth-graders across 30 Russian regions are testing the new exam.

Voronezh Mayor Sergey Petrin said on 28 October that the number of damaged houses identified after the 26 October drone attack had reached nearly one hundred. To speed repairs, the city decided to reimburse owners who pay for their own replacement of windows, balcony doors and loggia glazing. Earlier reports said air defences destroyed 113 drones over Voronezh region that night, more than 70 of them over the city itself; fires broke out at several industrial plants and a downtown business centre and a passenger train were damaged. Three people were killed and 39 injured, including three children.

The Russian Defence Ministry reported air defences intercepted 531 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory between 20:00 Tuesday and 08:00 Wednesday Moscow time. Belgorod region Governor Alexander Shuvayev said 212 drones were downed over the region in a day, with one civilian killed in Gryvoron district and four injured, two seriously. Bryansk region reported 68 downed. Lipetsk Governor Igor Artamonov reported 45 downed overnight with one person hurt but not hospitalised. Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein said falling debris set the second floor of a building on Perekalssky street alight, housing some healthcare servers. Tula Governor Dmitry Milyaev reported damage to apartment blocks, private homes and adjacent industrial infrastructure in Novomoskovsk. Drones were also downed over Rostov region and the Moscow area. TASS counted drone and missile danger declarations in 15 Russian regions from midnight to 08:00.

Citing the Russian Defence Ministry, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that the strategic submarine Generalissimus Suvorov carried out a successful Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile test from a submerged position in the Sea of Okhotsk. The launch was conducted under combat training plans and objective control data showed warheads reached the designated area at the Chizha range at the calculated time. Bulava entered service in May 2024 and is carried by Project 955 Borey-class strategic submarines; the three-stage solid-fuel missile carries six hypersonic individually targeted warheads.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in his Max messenger channel on 28 October that air defences shot down eight more Ukrainian drones approaching the capital, adding that emergency specialists were working at the debris site. The notice was posted at 22:41 Moscow time. The article recalls that 155 Ukrainian drones headed toward the Moscow region on the night of 23 October, most destroyed on distant approaches and five neutralised near Moscow.

The Ripol Classic publishing house announced on 28 October that Russian poet, prose writer, translator and artist Vladimir Aleynikov had died aged 80, calling him one of the brightest and most distinctive voices in contemporary Russian literature. Writer Yan Brushtein said he died at night at his home in Koktebel; his daughter said death was sudden and he simply did not wake up, with the farewell date and burial place still undecided. Aleynikov was born in Perm in 1946 and co-founded the SMOG literary group with Leonid Gubanov in 1965; his works went unpublished in Russia for a long period, with his first books appearing in 1987.

At a round table held during the 15th international Marine Research and Education conference, researchers announced a microbial preparation named Okeanida for removing organic contaminants from northern seas. Based on psychrophilic microorganisms that feed on hydrocarbons, the project is run by a Rosneft research centre and Innopraktika at Moscow State University biology faculty. More than 300 soil and water samples were collected in Arctic seas, identifying microbes able to break down organic impurities below +4 °C and at salinity up to 30%. The formulation uses granules up to 5 mm in diameter coated with a thin hydrophobic shell. Organisers said laboratory and field tests at Moscow State University White Sea biological station and trials in the Murmansk port area were completed in autumn 2026, with safety assessed for humans, warm-blooded animals and aquatic biological resources.

Sotheby s said in New York that a rare dinosaur skeleton nicknamed Jodi sold for $47.3 million, the second most expensive set of dinosaur bones ever sold at auction. The auction house said the lot had been estimated at $6–9 million and the buyer wished to remain anonymous. The nanotyrannus skeleton is one of three known to science, standing 2.9 metres tall and about 6 metres long, considered nearly 70% complete, and was found in 2019 on a ranch in Montana. The search and excavation became the basis for the documentary series Dino Hunters; several scientists had opposed selling significant fossils to private individuals. A study published last year confirmed nanotyrannus is a separate dinosaur genus rather than a miniature Tyrannosaurus rex.

Ozon published its Q3 2026 results: since August, fires of varying scale broke out at 11 of its logistics facilities after drone hits, and the company booked estimated loss provisions totalling 30.1 billion roubles for the quarter. The losses cover damage to goods held for sale, write-off and impairment of equipment, and other losses and expenses. Part of the risk on goods and other assets was insured, and the company is discussing compensation with insurers. Net profit rose 25% to 3.7 billion roubles, revenue grew 1.6x to 421.2 billion roubles and adjusted EBITDA was 93 billion roubles. GMV including services rose 42% to 1.6 trillion roubles, with 1.2 billion orders delivered (+76%) and purchase frequency per active buyer up 53% to 51 orders a year. Fintech revenue rose 57% to 85.2 billion roubles, with segment pre-tax profit of 27.1 billion roubles (+57%).

Ozon said it has put forward an insurance payout for goods damaged in the Makhachkala drone attack: the marketplace uploaded the documents needed to claim compensation into sellers' accounts, and they are visible only to sellers who had insurance in place at the time of the incident. Once a seller confirms in the account, the documents are automatically forwarded to the insurer for payment. The company added that inventory checks at the Chapayevsk and Krasnodar logistics centres will also be completed soon. Its warehouse in Dagestan was hit by a drone on 24 August, and logistics centres in Adygeysk, Nevinnomyssk and Krasnodar were damaged the same night. No payout amount, rate or timetable is given in the source.

In its opinion on the 2027–2029 federal budget bill, the State Duma committee on budget and taxes says a levy on air tickets may be introduced from 2027: 500 roubles per domestic ticket and 1,000 roubles per international ticket, to offset leasing and operating costs of new MC-21, Tu-214, SSJ-NEW (rendered SJ-100 in the other outlet) and Il-114-300 aircraft; the mechanism is being drawn up by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on presidential instruction. Based on 2025 Russian carrier passenger volumes (81.45 million domestic, 27.4 million international), annual proceeds could reach 68.12–84.41 billion roubles. The other outlet notes the document does not say who will pay the levy. The sources do not address any effect on air cargo costs.

Russian Railways' net profit under Russian accounting standards for January-September was 75 billion roubles, against a loss of 4.2 billion roubles a year earlier. Total income rose 18.4% to 2.7 trillion roubles, including freight revenue of 2.1 trillion (+12.7%) and 584 billion from other lines of business (+45%). Expenses rose 14.2% to 2.2 trillion; the company says slower expense growth reflects systematic work on operating efficiency. Profit from sales was 461.5 billion roubles, EBITDA rose 29.6% to 897.7 billion with a 33% margin, and net debt/EBITDA stood at 3x. The source does not mention e-commerce freight rates.

The Bank of Russia will tighten car-lending terms from Q1 2027: targeted car loans longer than 8 years will be banned for borrowers with a debt-to-income ratio above 50%, with the macroprudential limit set at 0%. For consumer loans secured by vehicles the macroprudential limit is set at 1%, against the current 20%. According to the Central Bank, in Q2 2026 targeted car loans longer than 7 years accounted for 26% of issuance and those longer than 8 years for 6%; in Q3 2026 consumer loans secured by cars accounted for 47% of issuance. Limits restricting lending to borrowers with a debt-to-income ratio above 80% are kept at 1%. The source does not address marketplace sellers.

According to Rosstat and the Ministry of Economic Development, consumer prices rose 0.08% between 20 and 26 October, after 0.05% the previous week, with annual inflation at 7.11%. Over the week tomatoes rose 7.3% and cucumbers close to 3%; potatoes +1.6%, bananas +1.4% and table beet +0.2%. Apples fell 1.8%, white cabbage 0.9% and carrots 0.8%. Among foods, chicken eggs rose 1.3%, frozen fish 0.9%, chicken 0.7% and biscuits 0.6%. Among non-foods, medicines and household chemicals fell slightly (up to 0.2%); petrol fell 1.6% and diesel was broadly unchanged. Compared with previously reported weekly figures, this item adds the current week's change and the annual reading.

The Agriculture Ministry says Russian agricultural organisations produced more than 30.7 billion eggs in the first nine months of 2026, up 1.1% year on year. The ministry said poultry farms keep raising output so the domestic market is fully supplied, while stressing the need to balance the interests of consumers, producers and retail chains: egg prices should stay affordable for buyers while profitability should support stable operations and further investment. Galina Bobyleva, head of the Russian Poultry Union, said farms are running normally and fully cover domestic demand, with prices stable and within inflation. No specific price figures are given in the source.

The Bank of Russia published official rates effective from 29 October: the US dollar at 80.8664 roubles, the euro at 90.1660 and the yuan at 12.0816. On the coverage day the applicable set was the one dated 28.10.2026: USD 80.5307, EUR 90.0977, CNY 12.0677 — meaning the coverage day saw publication of a new set effective the next day. The interface returns only the rate effective date and no publication time, so the time is recorded as MSK --:--.

At the third Russia-Africa summit, Vladimir Putin said African countries are fully able to connect to a high-tech cross-border payment system using digital currencies, stressing that the system is sovereign and linked to nothing else: "blocking such settlements is simply impossible in terms of modern technology". Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov cited A7, which is entering the cross-border payments market with African countries, saying payments go through "in one click" at a fee of 0.3% of the transaction. Deputy head of the presidential administration Maxim Oreshkin said Russia has almost fully switched to alternative international settlement mechanisms: five years ago foreign trade was served mainly in dollars and euros, while banks and non-bank financial institutions now handle payments without the Western financial system. Settlements for Chinese sellers on Russian platforms are not addressed.

Sber's press office said the bank's customers can now pay by QR code in Egypt through its online banking mobile app: the purchase amount is automatically converted into roubles and shown in both Egyptian pounds and Russian roubles at confirmation. Android requires the June 2025 version or newer (16.10+), iOS requires 17.0+. The bank said more than 2 million Russian citizens visited Egypt in 2025, and tourist flow rose about 23% year on year from 1 January to 25 September 2026. Egypt is the 14th country where Sber customers can pay by QR code; the service is also available in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. No arrangements for marketplace sellers are given.

Sber expects the Russian economy to grow 0.5-1% in 2026, against a previous forecast of 0-0.5%; bank CFO Taras Skvortsov said on a conference call that GDP dynamics will most likely be closer to the lower bound of the new range. The bank also raised its end-year inflation forecast to 6.5-7.5% from 6.5-7%. Its forecast for corporate lending growth is unchanged at 8-10% and for household lending at 5-8%; deposits are expected to grow 5-8% for legal entities and 13-15% for individuals. The article page shows no publication time, only that the date falls within the coverage day.