The nuclear-powered submarine cruiser K-132 Irkutsk of Project 949A has been withdrawn from the Russian Navy and sent for disposal. The submarine had been in service since 1988 but had not gone to sea since 1997. In 2001, it was transferred to the Zvezda shipyard for repairs and modernization, and in 2013, a contract was signed to upgrade it under the 949AM project (replacing Granit missiles with Kalibr and Onyx). The modernization never took place, and the program was effectively canceled. According to sources, this may signal Russia’s abandonment of modernization for all submarines of this class, potentially leading to the decommissioning of K-442 Chelyabinsk as well.
EU member states plan to urgently pass a law to indefinitely freeze Russian assets worth €210 billion in order to strengthen Brussels’ position in peace negotiations over Ukraine. The European Commission proposes using these assets to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion loan over the next two years. For this scheme to work, the assets must be frozen indefinitely rather than renewed every six months. Hungary opposes aid to Ukraine, so the EU is considering adopting the decision by qualified majority under Article 122. The issue is to be discussed at the summit on December 18–19.
The investment firm IPI Partners (Chicago) reached a settlement with OFAC over violations of the sanctions regime against Russia. In 2017, a company linked to Suleyman Kerimov, Definition Services, Inc., invested about $25 million in the IPI Partners fund. After Kerimov was added to the SDN list in April 2018, the fund continued operations with Definition Services until June 2022. For 51 sanctions violations, IPI Partners will pay a fine of over $11 million.
