Prologue Journal – Page 36241 – Understanding current events through the lenses of the past and future.

Russians attacked Kirovohrad Oblast with Shahed drones, hit infrastructure facility

Pravda Ukraine On the night of 14 June, the Russian occupiers attacked Kirovohrad Oblast with drones; a Shahed drone struck an infrastructure facility in Svitlovodsk. Source: The head of Kirovohrad Oblast Military Administration, Andrii Raikovych, on Telegram Quote: “Another large-scale night [missile – ed. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/14/7406764/

The war is an afterthought at the St. Petersburg forum, once a marquee event for Putin.

New York Times The real clue that the state-run St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is a shadow of its former self is the scant international presence. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/us/st-petersburg-forum-russia.html

UK Economy Rebounds

Wall Street Journal U.K. GDP matched expectations with 0.2% growth in April, boosted by the services sector, though resilient high inflation and possible interest-rate rises could put a lid on an uplift through the year. https://www.wsj.com/articles/uk-economy-rebounded-in-april-on-service-sector-boost-d8e9726f

Shell to Raise Dividend, Boost Returns

Wall Street Journal Shell said it will lift its shareholder distribution to 30%-40% of cash flow, with a 15% increase in dividend, and will also launch share buybacks of at least $5 billion for the second half of 2023. https://www.wsj.com/articles/shell-to-lift-dividend-by-15-launch-5-billion-buyback-6da0b40f

Ukrainians buy 700 Russian uniforms, may be plotting provocations outside Kherson — source

Disclaimer: TASS is Russian government propaganda, and not a reliable news source. While lots of staged stories could be fabricated, the idea is “to vilify the enemy, spread panic and sow discord among the local population” https://tass.com/defense/1631807

Mortgage lending in Russia can be record high this year — VTB Bank

Disclaimer: TASS is Russian government propaganda, and not a reliable news source. VTB has revised the forecast of mortgage lending market evolution in 2023 https://tass.com/economy/1631803

Moscow to retaliate Canada’s seizure of Russian aircraft, says diplomat

Disclaimer: TASS is Russian government propaganda, and not a reliable news source. An An-124 Ruslan cargo plane, owned by Russia’s Volga-Dnepr airline and chartered by the Canadian government, landed in Toronto on February 27 with a cargo of COVID tests from China https://tass.com/politics/1631801

‘Sanitary zone’ in Ukraine to protect Russia should run through Lvov, says Medvedev

Disclaimer: TASS is Russian government propaganda, and not a reliable news source. Earlier, the Russian president pointed out that Russia would consider the issue of creating a “sanitary zone” on the territory of Ukraine if the shelling of Russian regions continues https://tass.com/politics/1631799

Sber expects mortgage lending growth in 2023 — First Deputy CEO

Disclaimer: TASS is Russian government propaganda, and not a reliable news source. The average mortgage loan period in Sberbank has increased by six years from 18 to 24 years https://tass.com/economy/1631797

Victory supermarket owner questioned by Competition Authority – report

Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-746239