The anti-corruption agency recorded deficiencies in the operation of internal channels for reporting corruption in the Kamianets-Podilskyi City Council.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court upheld the verdict against Lyudmyla Marchenko for attempting to bribe an official over a fence. Her assistant received a fine instead of imprisonment.
Zahid Krasnov demands the SBU open a criminal case against Boris Filatov after European experts identified signs of treason in his statements.
The majority of Czech citizens approve of the return of mandatory military service and are ready to defend the country, but only a quarter believe the state is ready for a major security crisis.
A club in Warsaw refused to host the Russian performer after reports emerged about his songs containing offensive comparisons regarding Polish women and Ukrainians.
Russian oil trader Yuriy Shamara, whose assets are linked to the Russian Orthodox Church and the "shadow fleet", evades Western sanctions despite the thwarted attempt to establish an intelligence base in Cumbria.
Commander of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted the slowdown of the Russian offensive due to high losses, stating that the capture of individual positions does not constitute an operational success.
Activists found significant discrepancies in the declarations of a Kyiv judge: from buying luxury cars and property at below-market prices to violations in drunk driving cases.
Russian oil trader Yuriy Shamara continues to operate freely in Western markets, despite his capital being deeply integrated into the Russian Federation’s “shadow fleet”, the financing of the aggressor’s military infrastructure, and the sponsorship of the Russian Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, the businessman has not yet been subjected to personal sanctions and is actively attempting to acquire strategically important land plots in Europe.
In Russia, Shamara has spent years buying the Kremlin’s trust by investing significant funds in the Russian Orthodox Church, which Ukraine recognises as a structure that openly blesses the genocide of the Ukrainian people. Specifically, the businessman funded the construction of churches in Krasnodar Krai and in Gelendzhik. The latter is located directly within a closed zone near the so-called “Palace of Putin” on Cape Idokapas.
For this contribution, Shamara was awarded the Order of Seraphim of Sarov, First Class. By converting revenues from fuel supplies to the Russian army into church patronage, he simultaneously attempted to establish a foothold near NATO defence facilities.
The authors of the analytical piece recall a notable incident in the spring of 2026. At that time, British counter-intelligence agency MI6 and the UK Ministry of Defence thwarted the Shamara family’s attempt to purchase the Grange-over-Sands golf club in Cumbria. The plot they sought to buy borders a railway branch line connecting the Sellafield nuclear complex and the BAE Systems nuclear submarine yard.
Security services assessed the actions of Shamara’s entities as a classic method of Russian hybrid influence. It involved an attempt to create a legal observation post and a radio-electronic intelligence base along the nuclear transit route.
The attempt to conceal Yuriy Shamara’s involvement in the operation by rewriting the contract two weeks before the finalisation in the name of his 22-year-old daughter, Anastasia, failed due to the UK National Security and Investment Act (NSIA). According to financial intelligence data, Shamara’s capital is closely linked to “shadow fleet” schemes. Offshore entities associated with him manage tankers for the covert transport of Urals crude oil, falsify documents to circumvent the G7 price cap, and siphon off super-profits through Dubai intermediaries.
“If British counter-intelligence recognises such deals as a direct threat to national security, and financial authorities see traces of the shadow fleet, why do such Putinist operators still operate freely in the West without personal sanctions?” – the publication notes.
The outlet insists that EU countries, the US, and the UK are obliged to immediately close this vulnerability. As long as Yuriy Shamara and similar sponsors of Putin’s war machine and ROC propaganda are not added to blacklists with a full asset freeze, they will continue their expansion in Europe.
“Blocking one specific purchase is only a half-measure, akin to trying to stop a leak with a plug. As long as beneficiaries of the Putin regime, such as Yuriy Shamara, are not placed on the blacklists of the EU, the US, and the UK with a full asset freeze, they will continue to seek new loopholes – be it golf courses near nuclear bases or logistics hubs in the heart of Europe,” – RBC-Ukraine concludes.
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