Entities from Russia
160 entities tracked across Lowdown briefings.
People
25Alexander Novak
Russian Deputy PM for energy; OPEC+ envoy and key voice on sanctions-hit output.
Alexei Likhachev
CEO of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation; proposed three options for Iran uranium transfer.
Alexei Mordashov
Chairman of Severstal, one of Russia's largest steel producers; one of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs.
Andrei Belousov
Russian Defence Minister; named alongside Gerasimov in Putin's Easter ceasefire order.
Azizjon Mamashoyev
Individual designated by OFAC as operator of Advance Security Solutions and node in the Operation Zero exploit broker network.
Dmitry Peskov
Russia's chief spokesman: the Kremlin's voice on war, diplomacy, and denial.
Igor Sechin
CEO of Rosneft since 2012; his son Ivan was designated by OFAC on 28 May 2026.
Kirill Dmitriev
Head of Russian Direct Investment Fund; Putin's back-channel to Washington on sanctions and prisoner swaps.
Lavrov
Russia's Foreign Minister since 2004; present at Kremlin's reception of Iran's Araghchi on 25-26 April 2026.
Marina Vasanovich
Russian individual designated by OFAC as Sergey Zelenyuk's assistant and node in the Operation Zero exploit broker network.
Mykhalio Petrovich Chudnovets
Russian national charged with laundering over $70m in ransomware proceeds through cryptocurrency exchange E-Note from 2017.
Oleg Deripaska
Former Rusal controlling shareholder; OFAC-designated 2018; forced out in sanctions settlement.
Oleg Kucherov
Russian individual and suspected Trickbot operator designated by OFAC as part of the Operation Zero exploit broker network.
Ramzan Kadyrov
Head of the Chechen Republic; featured in Putin's weekly calendar for the week of 3-11 April 2026.
Roman Trotsenko
Russian billionaire and founder of Aeon Group, a diversified conglomerate; known for candid public commentary on Russia's economy.
Sergei Sobyanin
Mayor of Moscow since 2010; confirmed 26 Ukrainian drones intercepted over Moscow on 9 May 2026.
Sergei Tsivilyov
Russian Energy Minister who confirmed second oil tanker loading for Cuba
Sergey Vakulenko
Carnegie Endowment energy analyst specialising in Russian petroleum economics and refinery strike effects.
Sergey Zelenyuk
Russian exploit broker; operator of Matrix LLC (Operation Zero), OFAC-sanctioned April 2026 for trafficking US government zero-days.
Timur Shagivaleev
Director of Alabuga Polytech factory who stated the facility now produces nine times its original Geran-2 target.
Valery Gerasimov
Chief of the Russian General Staff; ordered halt to combat for the 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire.
Vladimir Medinsky
Putin's chief negotiator; led Russia's delegation at Istanbul Rounds 1 and 2.
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia since 2000; central broker in Iran nuclear talks and Ukraine war diplomacy.
Vyacheslav Nikonov
State Duma Foreign Affairs chair; led sanctioned delegation to US Congress in March.
Yuri Ushakov
Putin's foreign-policy aide; publicly confirmed Trump 'actively supported' the Victory Day ceasefire proposal.
Organisations
47Advance Security Solutions
Exploit brokerage operated by Azizjon Mamashoyev and designated by OFAC as part of the Operation Zero network.
Aeon
Russian diversified industrial conglomerate founded by billionaire Roman Trotsenko; ports, airports, Arctic logistics.
Afipsky refinery
One of southern Russia's largest oil refineries, located in Krasnodar Krai. Processes approximately 6.25 million tonnes of crude oil annually, roughly 2% of Russia's national refining output. Struck by Ukrainian drones on 14 March 2026 as part of a sustained fuel interdiction campaign.
Alabuga Polytech
Russian technical college attached to the Geran-2 drone assembly complex in Tatarstan; recruiting an unmanned-systems brigade via Telegram since mid-April 2026.
Almaz-Antey
Russia's state-owned air defence manufacturer; makes S-400, S-500, Buk, Tor; sanctioned by EU and US.
ALPHV
Russian-affiliated ransomware-as-a-service group; two IR professionals pleaded guilty in 2026 to using ALPHV to extort US victims.
APT28
Russian GRU military intelligence cyber unit; attributed with DNS-hijacking home routers to steal Microsoft 365 credentials.
Bashneft
Rosneft-owned Russian oil producer designated in EU's 20th sanctions package on 23 April 2026.
Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library
St Petersburg archive and cultural centre; the venue where Araghchi met Putin on 27 April 2026.
EADaily
Russian online news outlet based in St Petersburg; tier-3 sourcing for TurkStream flow data.
E-Note
Cryptocurrency exchange seized by FBI and BKA for laundering $70m+ in ransomware proceeds since 2017.
Eurasian Economic Union
Russia-led trade bloc linking Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan; relevant to Kazakh crude transit dispute.
FSB Star Blizzard
FSB cyber unit using QR-code social engineering to compromise messaging accounts of journalists, lawyers and politicians.
Gazprom
Russian state gas company; TurkStream operator; April 2026 European deliveries reportedly down 25%.
Gorky pumping station
Druzhba pipeline pump station near Nizhny Novgorod struck by Ukrainian drones after pipeline was reopened.
Granit enterprise
Russian military air-defence repair facility in Sevastopol, destroyed by Ukrainian drones in March 2026.
Indian Embassy Moscow
The Indian Embassy in Moscow is India's diplomatic mission to Russia, which confirmed the death of an Indian national at an oil-refinery construction site during Ukraine's 17 May 2026 drone barrage.
Interfax
Russian news agency; reported March 2026 TurkStream Europe-line deliveries up 21% year-on-year.
Kirishi refinery
KINEF refinery near St Petersburg processing 6.6% of Russian output; forced offline.
Kremniy El
Russian military microelectronics plant in Bryansk; struck by Storm Shadow in March.
LockBit5
Rebuilt post-Cronos iteration of the LockBit ransomware platform; active with sustained victim postings in April 2026.
Lukoil
Russia's largest private oil company; SDN-redesignated 16 April 2026 with retail wind-down exemption.
Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez
Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez is the Lukoil subsidiary operating the Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.
Matrix LLC
Russian LLC operated by Sergey Zelenyuk as the corporate vehicle for Operation Zero exploit brokerage, sanctioned by OFAC in April 2026.
Moscow Times
Independent Russian-language newspaper, Amsterdam-based since 2022, banned in Russia as foreign agent.
Novatek
Russia's largest independent natural gas producer. Operates the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in the Russian Arctic.
Operation Zero
Russian exploit brokerage operating as Matrix LLC; OFAC-sanctioned April 2026 for acquiring stolen US government zero-days.
RDIF
Russia's sovereign wealth fund; CEO Kirill Dmitriev lobbying against Western oil sanctions in March 2026.
Rosatom
Russia's state nuclear corporation; Bushehr operator and diplomatic circuit-breaker on Iran's enriched uranium deadlock.
Rosneft
Russia's largest state-controlled oil producer; under active OFAC SDN designation since April 2026.
Rosstat
Russia's Federal State Statistics Service, which published the aviation output data showing 117% YoY growth in April 2026.
Rostekhnadzor
Russia's nuclear and industrial safety regulator; issued 10-year operating licences for ZNPP units 1 and 2 on 2 April 2026.
RUBx
Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin banned under EU 20th sanctions package alongside the digital rouble.
Rusal
Russia's largest aluminium producer; 2018 OFAC designation is the Hengli precedent.
Russia National Wealth Fund
Russia's sovereign wealth fund; liquid assets down 60% from pre-invasion as war spending accelerates.
Russian Emergency Situations Ministry
Russian federal ministry responsible for civil defence and disaster response.
Russian Finance Ministry
Russian federal agency managing state finances; published data showing oil revenues down 38% year-on-year in 2026.
Russian Ministry of Defence
Russia's MoD; central channel for propaganda milestones and strategic battlefield communiqués.
Severstal
One of Russia's largest integrated steel and mining companies.
Slavneft
Russian oil producer jointly owned by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft; designated in EU 20th sanctions package.
Sovcomflot
Russia's state tanker operator; its Universal vessel abandoned Cuba's fuel run on 26 May 2026, leaving 270,000 bbl undelivered.
Space Research Institute RAS
Russian planetary science institute; built the LILEM instrument flying on China's Chang'e 7.
State Duma
Lower house of Russian parliament; delegation visited US Congress under sanctions.
TASS
Russia's primary state news agency; official conduit for Kremlin diplomatic and military announcements.
Transneft
Russian state pipeline monopoly controlling 70,000 km of oil trunk lines.
Trickbot
Russian-speaking cybercrime group behind banking malware and ransomware delivery infrastructure; member identified in Operation Zero network.
Zvezda Shipyard
Russian Far East shipyard building Arc7 LNG carriers domestically as Western dry-dock access closes.
Nations & Places
39Alabuga
Russia's Tatarstan drone factory mass-producing Shahed-136s for the Ukraine front and re-export to Iran.
Bolshaya Izhora naval arsenal
Russian naval munitions arsenal at Bolshaya Izhora, Gulf of Finland; struck in the June 2026 Kronstadt drone wave.
Bryansk
Russian oblast bordering Ukraine; home to the Kremniy El microelectronics plant struck in March 2026.
Chapayevsk
Russian city in Samara Oblast; home to Promsintez explosives factory struck March 2026.
Chechnya
Russian North Caucasus republic led by Kadyrov; forces deployed to Ukraine since 2022.
Dagestan
Russian republic in the North Caucasus; featured in Putin's April 2026 calendar due to flooding.
Kaleykino oil pumping station
Crude oil pumping station on the Druzhba pipeline near Almetyevsk in Tatarstan, Russia.
Kazan
Russian city where Energy Minister Tsivilyov confirmed Cuba-bound tanker loading
Kirishi
Leningrad Oblast city hosting a major Surgutneftegas refinery, targeted in Ukraine's 2026 refinery campaign.
Krasnodar Krai
Russian federal subject in the North Caucasus bordering the Black Sea; hosts fuel depots and refineries targeted by Ukrainian drones in 2026.
Kronstadt
Russian naval fortress island in the Gulf of Finland near St Petersburg; home base of the Baltic Fleet.
Kstovo refinery
The Kstovo refinery (Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez) is a Lukoil-operated refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, central Russia, struck on 22 May 2026.
Kursk
Russian oblast bordering Ukraine; site of Ukraine's August 2024 cross-border incursion.
Labinsk
City in Krasnodar Krai, southern Russia; its oil depot was destroyed by Ukrainian drones in March 2026, roughly 500 km behind the front line.
Moscow
Capital of Russia; seat of the Kremlin directing the war in Ukraine and Moscow's parallel role as Iran's logistics partner.
Moscow Oblast
Region surrounding Moscow, hit by Ukraine's largest-ever 1,000-drone barrage in May 2026.
Murmansk
Russian Arctic port; became primary oil export " "hub after Baltic terminal shutdowns in March 2026.
Neste terminal, Lomonosov
Finnish-owned oil terminal at Lomonosov near St Petersburg; hit in the June 2026 Kronstadt drone wave.
Nizhny Novgorod
Russia's fifth-largest city; home to the Gorky pumping station struck by Ukrainian drones in April 2026.
Novorossiysk
Russian Black Sea port hosting the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal; struck by Ukrainian drones on 6 April 2026.
Petergofskaya oil depot
Russian oil fuel depot near Peterhof, St Petersburg; struck in the June 2026 Kronstadt drone wave.
Port Kavkaz
Russian port on the Chushka Spit at the Kerch Strait, serving as the ferry link between mainland Russia and Crimea.
Portovaya
Russian Baltic Sea LNG liquefaction facility; origin of the sanctioned Kunpeng cargo.
Primorsk
Baltic oil export terminal in Leningrad Oblast; struck repeatedly by Ukrainian drones in March 2026.
Promsintez
Russian military explosives factory in Chapayevsk; struck by Ukrainian missiles, 28 March 2026.
Rostov Oblast
Russian border region adjacent to eastern Ukraine; site of repeated friendly fire and drone incidents.
Russia
Nuclear-armed state; permanent UN Security Council member waging full-scale war on Ukraine since 2022.
Ryazan
Russian city south-east of Moscow; refinery disrupted in Ukraine's March 2026 energy campaign.
Samara
Major Russian Volga city near the Syzran refinery struck by Ukrainian drones on 21 May 2026.
Samara Oblast
Russian Volga region hosting the Promsintez factory and Syzran refinery, both struck by Ukraine in 2026.
St Petersburg
Russia's second city; where Putin hosted Araghchi at the Yeltsin Library on 27 April 2026, signalling partner not co-belligerent status.
Syzran refinery
Rosneft refinery in Samara Oblast; shut 25 May after Ukrainian drone strike; supplies the Russian Air Force.
Taman
Russian Krasnodar port; Ukraine struck Taman ahead of the 6 April Novorossiysk hit as the Black Sea oil campaign expanded.
Tatarstan
Russian autonomous republic hosting Alabuga SEZ, the factory producing Shahed drones for Russia's wars.
Tuapse
Russian Black Sea port city; home to a Rosneft refinery struck by Ukraine and sanctioned by the EU in April 2026.
Ust-Luga
Russia's largest Baltic oil terminal; drone strikes cut exports 43% in March 2026.
Vysotsk
Russian Baltic port receiving crude rerouted from Ust-Luga and Primorsk after Ukrainian strikes in late March 2026.
YANOS
Yaroslavl oil refinery; 15 million tonnes/year capacity, struck by Ukrainian drones March 2026.
Yaroslavl
Russian Volga city; YANOS refinery (300kbd) hit repeatedly by Ukrainian deep-strike drones.
Armed Groups
5Baltic Fleet
Russia's naval force in the Baltic Sea, headquartered at Kronstadt and Kaliningrad.
GRU Unit 26165
Russian GRU military intelligence unit; attributed as APT28 operator responsible for 2026 SOHO router DNS-hijacking campaign.
Russian 3rd Combined Arms Army
Russian army formation near Sloviansk; stalled with no progress since 22 March.
Russian Air Force
Russia's military aviation branch; fuel supply degraded by Ukrainian refinery drone strikes in 2026.
Sever-Akhmat
A Chechen volunteer regiment fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine, named after Chechen leader Akhmad Kadyrov.
Legislation
1Concepts
3ALPHV/BlackCat
Ransomware-as-a-service group shut down by law enforcement in December 2023; IR professionals Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin pleaded guilty to using it against US victims.
Probate Registry
Russian state statistical record of probate cases; used by Mediazona and Meduza to estimate Russian military deaths via excess male mortality.
S-300
Russian long-range surface-to-air missile system; supplied to Iran in 2016.
Events
39 May Victory Day parade
Annual Russian military parade on Red Square marking the 1945 Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
Spiderweb
SBU deep-strike on 1 June 2025 that destroyed Russian strategic bombers at their home bases.
St Petersburg International Economic Forum
Russia's annual high-profile economic forum; Putin used the 2026 edition to renew Iran HEU custody offer.
Products
23Alexey Kosygin
Russia's first domestically built Arc7 LNG carrier, delivered January 2026 by Zvezda Shipyard.
Arc7
Arctic-rated LNG carrier class; 15 vessels built for Yamal exports, 11 European-owned.
Boikyi
Russian Baltic Fleet missile corvette set on fire at Kronstadt by Ukrainian drones on 6 June 2026, the first confirmed Ukrainian naval strike in the Baltic Sea.
Boris Davydov
Russian Arc7 LNG icebreaker carrier; one of six vessels facing binary maintenance fork after EU shipyard ban.
Georgiy Brusilov
Russian Arc7 LNG icebreaker carrier; due summer 2026 dry-dock with EU yards barred under 20th sanctions package.
Geranium-3
Russian variant of Iran's Shahed-136; uses Chinese Telefly jet engine assessed as inferior to original spec.
Geranium-5
Russian Shahed-136 variant using Chinese Telefly engine; disintegrating in flight as of May 2026.
Kinzhal
Russian air-launched hypersonic ballistic missile; fired against Ukraine alongside 324 Shahed drones post-truce.
Kunpeng
138,200 cbm LNG carrier from Russia's Portovaya; rejected at India's Dahej terminal, May 2026.
Molniya-2
Russian approx. USD 300 loitering munition; low-cost attritable strike drone in Ukraine.
Nikolay Yevgenov
Russian Arc7 LNG icebreaker carrier; sixth vessel in the summer 2026 dry-dock queue after EU yard ban.
Nikolay Zubov
Russian Arc7 LNG icebreaker carrier; one of six facing a non-EU yard queue after the EU 20th sanctions ban.
NRTK Impulse
Russian unmanned ground vehicle platform used alongside the Kurier UGV to carry North Korean MLRS systems.
NRTK Kurier
Russian electric-drive unmanned ground vehicle; used to mount North Korean Type-75 MLRS for remote rocket artillery operation.
Power of Siberia 2
Proposed 50 billion cubic metre per year natural gas pipeline from Siberia to China via Mongolia, under negotiation since 2015.
Rudolf Samoylovich
Russian Arc7 LNG icebreaker carrier; due summer 2026 dry-dock with EU yards barred under 20th sanctions package.
Russian LNG
LNG from Russian facilities; EU Council ban on short-term contracts enters force 25 April 2026.
Sea Owl I
228-metre shadow fleet tanker seized by Sweden while running falsified documents for Russia.
Urals
Russia's crude oil benchmark; trading at steep discount after Baltic terminal strikes.
Urals Crude
Russia's benchmark crude oil grade; surged to $123/barrel in April 2026 despite sanctions.
V2U
Russian AI autonomous UAS; Nvidia Jetson Orin; YOLOv5; relies on Western chips despite export controls.
Vladimir Vize
Russian Arc7 LNG icebreaker carrier; due summer 2026 dry-dock with EU yards now barred.
Yamal LNG
Russian Arctic LNG project; facing EU import ban deadline of 25 April 2026.
Technology
14Anatoly Kolodkin
Russian crude tanker; its delivered cargo powered four blackout-free days in Havana via the Camilo Cienfuegos refinery.
CANFAIL
A Russia-nexus malware family that wraps malicious payloads in 32 or more LLM-generated benign queries to obscure malicious logic from static analysis tools.
Iskander
Russian short-range ballistic missile system; used in mass strikes on Ukrainian cities alongside cruise missiles.
Izdeliye-30
Russia's newest jam-resistant cruise missile; first confirmed residential strike killed ten in Kharkiv, March 2026.
Kalibr
Russia's sea- and submarine-launched cruise missile; workhorse of long-range strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.
Kh-101
Russia's primary air-launched cruise missile; vulnerable to Ukrainian GPS jamming the Izdeliye-30 was built to solve.
LILEM
Russian lunar dust and electric field instrument on Chang'e 7, targeting Shackleton crater rim.
LONGSTREAM
A Russia-nexus malware family paired with CANFAIL that uses LLM-generated decoy code to obscure malicious payloads from static analysis.
Oreshnik
Russian IRBM capable of Mach 10+; fired in the war's first dual launch on 24 May 2026.
Pantsir
Russian short-range air-defence gun-missile system; deployed widely against Ukrainian drones.
S-400
Russia long-range SAM system whose battlefield destruction shapes Ukraine war air control.
Universal
Sovcomflot diesel tanker; ~270,000 barrels diverted from Cuba on 26 May 2026 as GL 134B expired.
Yars
Russian intercontinental ballistic missile; regularly featured in Victory Day parades.
Zircon
Russian Mach 9 hypersonic cruise missile; fired three times in the 24 May 2026 barrage.