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financial reports of the companies owned by the businessmen. For some companies a capitalization to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) ratio or a share price to earnings per share ratio are used. The rating comprises 500 wealthiest people of the world, including 22 Russians. Vladimir Potanin, one of the core owners of metals giant Norilsk Nickel, led the rating with a $28.5bn fortune that decreased by $94.2mn in the period. Independent gas producer Novatek’s co-owner Leonid Mikhelson ranked second with wealth increasing by $516mn to $25.1bn. Businessman Vladimir Lisin gained $905mn to $20.8bn, occupying the third place.
Billionaire Oleg Deripaska said Russia could find its coffers empty already next year and needs investment from “friendly” countries to break the hold of sanctions on the economy on March 2. “There will be no money already next year,” Deripaska said Thursday at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum in Siberia. “We will need foreign investors.”Funds are now running low and “that’s why they’ve already begun to shake us down,” said Deripaska, founder of United Co, Rusal International PJSC, the biggest aluminum producer outside China.
● War
Russia plans to hire 400,000 professional soldiers. Russia's Defence Ministry will start a new recruitment campaign on April 1, aiming to conclude contracts with 400,000 professional soldiers, the Russian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported, citing several regional media outlets.
Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed governor of annexed Crimea, has created his own private military company called Convoy that’s headed by Konstantin Pikalov (call sign: Mazai), a former Wagner Group leader whom the independent outlet iStories has called Evgeny Prigozhin’s “right hand man.” Meduza summarizes iStories’s reporting on the group, its origins, and its links to both Wagner Group and official Russian military structures.
Prigozhin claims Wagner Group to recruit 30,000 mercenaries by mid-May. Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin added that Wagner recruitment centres, which he said last week have opened in 42 cities across Russia, sign on 500-800 people per day.
Ukraine’s General Staff: Russia has lost 156,990 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. According to the report, Russia has also lost 3,448 tanks, 6,742 armored fighting vehicles, 5,337 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,475 artillery systems, 491 multiple launch rocket systems, 256 air defence systems, 304 airplanes, 289 helicopters, 2,107 drones, 18 boats.
Russia has lost 5 times more soldiers in Bakhmut than Ukraine. Russian troops have lost at least five service people for every Ukrainian soldier killed defending Donetsk Oblast's Bakhmut, CNN reported on March 6, citing an
53 RUSSIA Country Report Russia April 2023 www.intellinews.com