International News

Putin decree lets Russia take control of infrastructure damaged in Ukrainian drone attacks

Daily Briefing - World

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or rebuild them after the strikes.

The move came Monday amid growing economic pressure and public frustration being felt in Russia after months of escalating Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries and e-commerce hubs that have caused nationwide disruptions.

Ukraine also is reeling from relentless aerial attacks that have smashed its power grid ahead of winter and heavily damaged homes as Russia's invasion stretches into its fifth year.

The decree may pressure owners to undertake repairs

The Kremlin's exact intentions with the decree are unclear. However, it applies to various sectors, including energy infrastructure, as well as industrial, communications, transportation and logistics facilities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that "often business owners do not pay enough attention to taking measures to ensure safety, anti-drone safety."

Given the threat to vital economic infrastructure, "we must take measures, we must ensure our own safety," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in a statement the decree doesn't imply the nationalization of companies or a change of ownership -- only "involvement of the state in the management of an enterprise to solve specific security problems."

He added that the decree "doesn't imply widespread use," and that "targeted, carefully considered decisions will be made at the highest level."

Analysts say Putin wants companies to boost defenses

Russian political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said the measure might be a "tactical" step designed to force the owners of repeatedly damaged oil refineries into making repairs.

"Given the fact that the same refinery has already been hit three to five times, it's safe to assume that the owners are now reluctant to invest in restoring what's been destroyed," he said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Why spend billions if they're going to get hit again tomorrow?" said Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for Putin.

He said the government is giving companies an ultimatum: "If you don't finance the restoration of the refineries, we'll take them away from you."

Chris Weafer, the CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. Consultancy, said the Kremlin is trying to compel companies to spend more on drone protection and reduce the number of successful, high-profile Ukrainian attacks.

"This is an effort to force companies to look at their own security, to take measures and to spend their own money on security measures and not just be relying on the state," Weafer told The Associated Press.

The war is increasing costs for businesses, he noted, but added: "The state doesn't want any additional budget burdens and having to repair businesses or having to provide security. They want the companies to do it themselves."

Ukraine says it hit more Russian refineries

In the latest attacks, Ukraine's General Staff said Tuesday its forces struck facilities at Russia's Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region overnight, causing a fire. Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the town of Afipsky.

A Ukrainian attack also damaged the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in southern Russia's Rostov region overnight and halted operations, Rostov Gov. Yuri Slyusar said, without elaborating.

It was the eighth time in a year that Ukrainian drones have targeted the Afipsky refinery and the fourth time in the past year they have aimed at Novoshakhtinsk, according to data from Ukraine's General Staff.

Russian businesses face fundamental economic challenges as the costly war drags on. The government has raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control, and taking over major companies could potentially bring in revenue.

At the same time, seizing damaged assets could bring another financial burden. The Kremlin may intend the measure as a way to pressure companies to shoulder more responsibility for air defense, as Russia's vast territory is hard to protect.

Russia also is offering more help for its biggest online retailer, Wildberries, and businesses selling goods through it. The company and thousands of sellers working with it have been hit hard by repeated Ukrainian strikes on warehouses. The Finance Ministry proposed Monday extending deadlines for tax and insurance payments to give Wildberries and its sellers some financial breathing space.

On Saturday, Putin told state television that Russia "must and will improve the air defense system and enhance its capabilities."

"We need to streamline coordination between defense, law enforcement and civilian agencies at all levels, and to leverage the capabilities of state‑run enterprises and private businesses," he said.

In May, following deep strikes that unsettled Moscow, Russian lawmakers approved a bill that allowed the Central Bank, state-controlled Sberbank and other financial services to fend off drone attacks by installing air defenses on their premises.

News outlet RBC, citing anonymous sources in and close to the Defense Ministry, reported that month that a mechanism had been established for businesses to procure weapons and equipment to protect themselves from drone attacks, something Russian officials and lawmakers have said companies should do.

Iran's gas lines are growing, but there's no sign so far that its leaders will bow to US sanctions

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Lines have grown outside gas stations across Tehran in recent weeks as the United States has tightened its blockade and threatened more severe sanctions, with some people waiting for two hours or more to fill up.

The uncertainty deepened on Tuesday, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to fully sever the country from the global economy. In recent days, Iranian officials have spoken of a possible reduction in heavy gas subsidies as they seek to endure the tightening blockade.

"Maybe we will face a shortage of fuel," said Hashem Abadi, a 34-year-old barber. "I rush to the filling stations whenever my tank is down to half or so."

The latest U.S. measures are aimed at wringing concessions from the Islamic Republic nearly six months into the war launched by President Donald Trump and Israel. The war has already battered Iran's economy and inflicted mounting pain on ordinary people. But there's no sign yet that it has brought Iran's leaders to their knees, or that it will reignite the anti-government protests that convulsed the country in January.

Shelves are full but pockets are empty

The lines had been growing longer well before Bessent's announcement, amid shortages caused by the American blockade and existing sanctions. And with double-digit inflation and the rial currency at a record low, Iranians are struggling to afford more than just fuel.

"I'm filling my car as much as possible since soon it will be sold at higher prices," said 51-year-old taxi driver Mahmoud Chavoshi. "Everything I buy has grown more expensive over the last week, from milk to pasta."

There were no such lineups outside banks, and grocery stores and pharmacies are still well-stocked, but customers complained about being able to afford less. Inflation has soared during the war, and the currency hit a record low ahead of Bessent's announcement.

"Some of our regular customers buy now and pay later, since their pockets are not as full as before," said Morteza Daryani, who runs a grocery store in Tehran.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the U.S. of resorting to economic pressure after failing to defeat Iran militarily. He said it was trying to create "social problems and economic dissatisfaction in order to throw Iran into chaos."

"Should we bow down to the problems and surrender? Absolutely not," he was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies.

No signs of unrest, but resilience has its limits

There are no signs yet that the economic discontent has translated into protests in Iran, where authorities violently crushed demonstrations at the start of the year, killing thousands.

Iran has been under heavy international sanctions for decades due to its nuclear program and support for armed groups. Oil sales to China have long provided a lifeline, and it's unclear if the U.S. can cut them off.

Still, there are "always limits to resistance and resilience," said Mohammad Farzanegan, a professor of Middle Eastern economics at the University of Marburg in Germany.

"People are losing their purchasing power every day," he said. "All of this, combined with worsening diplomatic prospects and the psychological burden of mounting pressures, could push frustration to a point where it can no longer be effectively managed by the state."

Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, who heads the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think tank focused on Iran's economy, said the sectors that Bessent threatened to target "are not lifelines for the Iranian state, they are lifelines for the Iranian people."

In an analysis posted on X, Batmanghelidj said digital assets and gold are how Iranians protect their savings, technology keeps them connected with the world, aviation allows them to travel, and shipping is how food and medicine reach Iran.

UAE decision to cut trade ties could hit hard

At the moment, the most effective economic pressure has come from the naval blockade.

But last week's announcement from the United Arab Emirates that it was cutting off all trade and financial transactions with Iran could have longer-term effects if the country follows through, said Sascha Bruchmann, an analyst with the International Institute of Strategic Studies' Middle East office in Bahrain.

Bessent, who on Monday threatened secondary American sanctions on countries doing business with Iran, suggested it was pressure from Washington that led the UAE to its decision.

"Actions that they took last week were not coincident but likely causal, and I would expect that we would see a broad array of countries taking similar actions as we continue our engagement," he said.

Iran is exerting pressure of its own by largely closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that carried a fifth of the world's oil and gas before the war. It's betting that the impact on the global economy -- and U.S. gas prices ahead of midterm elections -- will force Trump to back down.

"Trump is betting that their time runs out first due to the naval blockade," Bruchmann said. "Both clocks are ticking, and no one knows which clock is right."

A tornado tears through a village in southern France, wrecking 300 homes

PARIS -- A tornado ripped through a small village in southern France, damaging about 300 homes, destroying several cars and injuring dozens of people, authorities said Tuesday.

The tornado struck Pomas, a village of about 1,000 people, on Monday and rescue teams continued their search through ruins on Tuesday, though no people were immediately reported missing.

Authorities said that 39 people were injured. Alain Bucquet, the head of the local government office, later said 20 of them were hospitalized, with none of them in critical condition as of Tuesday evening. Authorities opened emergency accommodation centers to house displaced residents.

Bucquet said the Pomas school was partially destroyed, but assured residents that the town's children would be able to attend classes in surrounding municipalities starting on the first day of the school year in September.

In the broader Aude department, about 1,400 households were still without electricity on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The region was under a thunderstorm alert at the time of the tornado, with wind gusts exceeding 100 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour) recorded at a nearby meteorological station. The third stage of the Vuelta a Espana bike race, which was held in southern France on Monday, was halted because of hail.

According to Meteo France, the national weather agency, a few dozen tornadoes occur each year in mainland France, most of them of low intensity.