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As part of its efforts to combat fraud and spam, the Russian government is discussing a series of proposals aimed at restricting the circulation of SIM cards for the Internet of Things and eSIMs, according to Kommersant.
What is being proposed:
✹ Classify M2M (Machine-to-Machine) SIM cards used in the Internet of Things as a separate category;
✹ Introduce additional identification requirements for users of such SIM cards;
✹ prohibit the transmission of voice calls and text messages from such SIM cards;
✹ prohibit Russians from registering eSIMs from abroad.
It is expected that these measures may be adopted as part of the third package of anti-fraud amendments to the legislation, but no specific decision has been made yet. Currently, the market for SIM cards used in the Internet of Things is in a gray area, and these cards are being used for spam calls.
Latvian intelligence has warned that Russia is preparing possible provocations against the Baltic states and Poland—such as missile and drone strikes—to put pressure on NATO and force the alliance to withdraw its support for Ukraine.
At the same time, intelligence officials believe there is no direct military threat from Russia: “We do not currently fear a full-scale invasion. Even if the war in Ukraine ended today, it would take Russia three to five years to rebuild sufficient military capabilities.”
Four more Russian regions have imposed restrictions on gasoline sales
✹ Omsk Region Governor Viktor Khotsenko announced that “to prevent artificial panic buying at gas stations,” fuel will be available for sale only for filling a vehicle’s tank. The limit for gasoline will be 40 liters, and for diesel fuel, 80 liters. At highway gas stations, the limit will be 40 liters for gasoline and 200 liters for diesel.
✹ Restrictions on gasoline sales to individuals are being introduced in the Saratov Region—no more than 30 liters per vehicle. The limit will remain in effect until June 30. Regional Governor Roman Busargin called this a “necessary measure to reduce unwarranted panic and potential speculation in the fuel market.”
✹ Igor Kobzev, governor of the Irkutsk Region, reported that the region is “forced to switch to manual operation—we are determining fuel volumes for each recipient individually.”
✹ In the Novosibirsk Region, restrictions on fuel sales at gas stations are being introduced “to prevent speculative demand.” According to Governor Andrei Travnikov, he has instructed the local Ministry of Industry and Trade “to hold talks with the owners of gas station chains to reach a unified position on this issue within the day.”
✹ Residents of the Vladimir Region have also been asked to drive less due to “temporary difficulties” with gasoline.
Alexander Avdeev, governor of the Vladimir Region, urged residents of the region to reduce travel by private car and to purchase gasoline “only in the amounts currently necessary.”
“The calmer residents’ reaction to these temporary difficulties, the faster we’ll be able to get things back to normal,” Avdeev wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the official, drivers “responded with a rush of demand” to the “logistical problems” that some companies experienced last week. As a result, lines formed and gasoline prices began to rise even at those gas stations where fuel deliveries were proceeding as scheduled.
A drone carrying five kilograms of explosives was found in a field in Estonia
In the Estonian village of Rüüge, a local resident who had gone to mow the grass found a drone in a field with an explosive device weighing about five kilograms attached to it. This was reported by Harris Puusepp, head of the Estonian Security Police Department.
The man found the drone on the evening of June 10.
“The man, having gone out to mow [the grass], discovered a drone lying in the tall grass. And there were still some parts of the drone left on a tree, so it appears it fell from there,” Puusepp said.
He speculated that the drone crashed in the field on June 3 during a Ukrainian attack on Russia.
The Russian government has amended the bill on AI regulation
Compared to the first version (which was criticized by the Russian business community), the document has been significantly shortened—it now contains 13 articles instead of 21.
The bill is now titled “On Supporting the Development of AI Technologies” — instead of the previous “On the Fundamentals of State Regulation of AI Technology Applications.” The document no longer addresses artificial intelligence in general but focuses on the development, implementation, and application of large, fundamental AI models.
The new version does not include the concept of a “trusted” AI model; only “sovereign” and “national” models remain. Models developed by Russian legal entities will be classified as such. They must process user requests and store data within Russia, and comply with Russian legislation and spiritual and moral values.
The Central Bank of Russia Did Not Allow Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, and T-Bank to Create Their Own Payment Systems
The Bank of Russia has denied Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, and T-Bank permission to create their own payment systems, RBC reports, citing its sources.
According to the publication, the regulator rejected all models for such a system proposed by the banks, making it clear that there will be no alternative to the National Payment Card System (NPCS, НСПК) on the Russian market.
RBC’s sources clarified that the Central Bank rejected both the initial concept, which involved card-based transactions, and the subsequent version, which was based on QR code payments.