Category: Russian Federation

MIL-OSI Global: Russia is labelling Oscar Jenkins a ‘mercenary’, not a prisoner of war. What’s the difference – and why does this matter?

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Shannon Bosch, Associate Professor (Law), Edith Cowan University

Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old former teacher from Melbourne, was one of many foreigners who responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call in 2022 for volunteers to join Ukraine’s armed forces to help repel Russia’s invasion.

In early 2024, Jenkins joined Ukraine’s International Legion of Territorial Defence, which has attracted some 20,000 fighters from 50 countries since the war began. He had no previous military experience, but this wasn’t a requirement to join.

In December, Jenkins was captured by Russian forces in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine and accused of serving as a “mercenary” in Ukraine’s 66th Mechanised Brigade’s 402nd Rifle Battalion. He was tried in a Russian court and sentenced on May 16 to 13 years imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.

When a foreigner volunteers to fight in a war, their legal status under international law can be complicated.

Are they a soldier with the full authorisation of one of the warring parties to engage in hostilities? Or are they an illegal mercenary?

And what happens if they are captured?

Why legal status matters

The answers to these questions have very real importance to the thousands of foreigners who have joined Ukraine’s International Legion since 2022.

Russian authorities have classified all of Ukraine’s foreigner fighters as “mercenaries”. They’ve used this label to deny foreign fighters the status of “prisoner of war” (POW), with the requisite protections that come along with that under international humanitarian law.

While foreigners are permitted under international law to enlist in the armed forces of a state for political or moral reasons, mercenaries have historically been outlawed due to their sole motivation being financial gain.

International humanitarian law (the rules that govern war) define mercenaries as individuals who are not nationals or residents of a state engaged in war and are recruited to fight outside that state’s official armed forces.

They are motivated solely by private gain (like money or promises of reward), often well in excess of what the traditional armed forces are paid. Mercenaries are essentially professional soldiers who sell their services to a state without any real ties to that country.

Once a fighter is classified as a “mercenary”, they lose all the legal protections that are traditionally afforded lawful combatants.

This includes prisoner of war status if they are captured and immunity from prosecution for fighting in a conflict. Prisoners of war are also entitled to humane treatment and access to food and medical care. And they cannot be subjected to sham trials or torture.

According to my research, many of the foreign nationals who joined the International Legion were motivated by a desire to defend Ukraine against Russia’s aggression. They were sworn into Ukraine’s armed forces and paid the same as a Ukrainian soldier of equal rank.

Once enlisted in the armed forces, they were immediately exempt from “mercenary” status, irrespective of their motivation for joining.

As such, these foreign fighters should be entitled to the full range of protections guaranteed to members of Ukraine’s armed forces under the Geneva Conventions.

Labelling lawful foreign members of the Ukrainian armed forces as “mercenaries”, and denying them their protections, is an abuse of international law.

How can Australia protect its nationals?

If an Australian enlists in Ukraine’s armed forces and is captured by Russian forces, there is a limited toolkit the Australian government can use to help him or her. However, it is not powerless.

Through its embassy in Moscow, Australia can request access to detainees to assess their welfare while in prison. Russia can, however, decline this access. Details of a detainee’s capture may also be withheld.

Australia can also apply diplomatic pressure to ensure humane treatment of prisoners and their full POW rights.

This can be done by working with international bodies, such as the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention or organisations like the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), which can request access to detainees.

It appears the government is already doing some of these things. According to Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the government has been working with Ukraine and the ICRC to advocate for Jenkins’ welfare and release, and providing consular support to Jenkins’ family.

Australia also has an obligation to warn its citizens they will likely face severe consequences if they travel to Ukraine to fight and are captured by Russian forces, given Russia’s misuse of the “mercenary” label.

Through back-channel negotiations, Australia could also push Ukraine or its allies to include Australians being held by Russia in future prisoner swaps.

In January of this year, Ukraine and Russia carried out such an exchange of 470 prisoners from both nations. And in talks last week in Turkey, both sides agreed to release another 1,000 prisoners on each side.

Such exchanges have involved foreign fighters in the past. In 2022, 10 foreign citizens were included in a prisoner swap, including five Britons, two Americans, a Croatian, a Swede and a Moroccan. Several of them had been convicted of being mercenaries and sentenced to death after a Russian sham trial.

There is no guarantee Jenkins would qualify for such an exchange, however, if Russia continues to classify him as a mercenary.

Shannon Bosch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Russia is labelling Oscar Jenkins a ‘mercenary’, not a prisoner of war. What’s the difference – and why does this matter? – https://theconversation.com/russia-is-labelling-oscar-jenkins-a-mercenary-not-a-prisoner-of-war-whats-the-difference-and-why-does-this-matter-256996

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Trump’s conversation with European leaders triggers controversy

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

What U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders after his two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin has triggered controversy.

Three days after the high-stake talks for Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing senior European officials familiar with the conversation, that Trump told European leaders that Putin “isn’t ready to end the Ukraine war because he thinks he is winning.”

The White House denied this account immediately. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that Trump “did say he believes Putin is winning the war, but he never said ‘Putin isn’t ready to end the war’.”

During the call, Trump said several times that “he believes Putin wants peace and wants the war to be over,” Leavitt noted.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also dismissed the WSJ report, saying Russia was only aware of what was said during the phone call between the two leaders on Monday.

“Look, we know what Trump told Putin. We don’t know what Trump told the Europeans after that phone call. We know the official statement by President Trump,” Peskov said.

According to Trump, the afterward call’s participants included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The controversy came as European officials accused Trump of handing Putin a win after their phone call since he suggested abandoning being a mediator in ending the war and refused to impose fresh sanctions on Russia.

“Several European officials said the message they took from the call was that they should not expect the United States to join them any time soon in piling additional financial pressure onto Mr. Putin,” The New York Times said in a analysis published Thursday.

“The disagreement between the Americans and the Europeans over support for Ukraine will likely come to a head over two nearly back-to-back summits: the Group of 7 in Canada in mid-June and the NATO summit a week later in The Hague,” the report added.

MIL OSI China News –

May 27, 2025

MIL-OSI Australia: Guide to functional currency rules

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

How to use the functional currency rules guide

The electronic version of this document is the only authorised version. Printed copies may be out of date.

Read this guide to find out more about the functional currency rules, including:

eligibility requirements
the implications for tax accounting and tax reporting.

You can use this guide if you are:

an Australian resident or a non-resident with a permanent establishment in Australia and both of the following apply
- you keep your accounts solely or predominantly in a particular foreign currency
- you wish to work out your taxable income (or tax loss) using that foreign currency – that is, using your ‘applicable functional currency’
a non-resident disposing of indirect interests in real property in Australia and the sole or predominant currency in which you keep your accounts at the time of disposal is a foreign currency. The application of functional currency rules is mandatory in this situation.

This guide does not cover income from overseas permanent establishments of resident taxpayers.

Functional currency translation rules

The functional currency translation rules are an exception to the core foreign currency translation rules.

Under the core foreign currency translation rules, amounts in a foreign currency must be translated into Australian dollars (A$). There are also rules about when and at what exchange rate a translation is to take place for a given type of transaction.

Under the functional currency rules, you can use a currency other than A$ as the unit of account to work out your taxable income or tax loss. The core foreign currency translation rules continue to apply to amounts and transactions not covered by the functional currency rules.

If you are an eligible taxpayer who keeps your accounts solely or predominantly in a particular foreign currency, you can choose to use that foreign currency as the unit of account to work out your taxable income or tax loss.

If you have made such a choice (that is, an effective functional currency choice), you do not translate transactions you undertake in either a foreign currency or in your applicable functional currency into A$. Rather, you translate only your net amount of taxable income or tax loss calculated in your applicable functional currency into A$.

The core foreign currency translation rules are contained in section 960-50 of Subdivision 960-C of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997).

The functional currency translation rules are contained in section 960-80 of Subdivision 960-D of the ITAA 1997.

How the functional currency rules work

Once you choose to use a non-Australian dollar applicable functional currency, you must use that currency as the unit of account in your day-to-day tax accounting. After working out your taxable income or tax loss in the applicable functional currency, you must translate that amount into A$ to report on your tax return.

You must also carry out your instalment income calculations in your applicable functional currency and translate that amount into A$ for reporting purposes.

Eligibility to account in a functional currency

Only certain taxpayers can choose to work out their taxable income or tax loss using a non-Australian dollar applicable functional currency. This guide is relevant only if you are either of the following:

a resident who must prepare financial reports under section 292 of the Corporations Act 2001
a non-resident carrying on business through a permanent establishment in Australia.

Your applicable functional currency is the sole or predominant currency in which you keep your ‘accounts’ at the time you choose to use functional currency.

‘Accounts’ means ledgers, journals, statements of financial performance, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and statements of financial position and includes statements, reports and notes attached to, or intended to be read, with such items.

Find out more in subsection 960-70(4) of the ITAA 1997.

The following taxpayers using a non-A$ applicable functional currency are not covered in this guide:

Australian residents carrying on business through overseas permanent establishments, using a non-A$ applicable functional currency to work out their taxable income or loss
attributable taxpayers in respect of controlled foreign companies (CFC) and transferor trusts, using a non-A$ applicable functional currency to work out the ‘attributable income’ of the CFC or transferor trust.

When to make a functional currency choice

The functional currency rules started to apply on 1 July 2003.

Ordinarily, if you choose to use a foreign currency as your applicable functional currency to work out your taxable income or tax loss, your choice will take effect after the end of the tax year during which you made it.

You must make your functional currency choice in writing.

In some circumstances, you can make your functional currency choice after the start of the tax year in which you intend it to take effect. This is referred to as a ‘backdated start up choice’. You must make a ‘backdated start up choice within 90 days of either of the following:

the start of the tax year, if your entity existed at that time
the day your entity came into existence, if it did not exist at the start of the tax year.

See details on:

Withdrawing an existing functional currency choice and substituting a new choice

You can withdraw your existing functional currency choice if the functional currency you are using ceases to be the sole or predominant currency in which you keep your ‘accounts’. Your functional currency choice withdrawal will take effect from the end of the tax year in which you withdraw it.

Your withdrawal:

cannot be backdated
must be made in writing
should be available as part of the business’s tax records.

After your previous functional currency choice is withdrawn, you can make a choice to use the new sole or predominant currency in which you keep your accounts to work out your taxable income or tax loss. You must make this choice in writing. If you don’t make a new functional currency choice, the core foreign currency translation rules will apply, which means that all amounts must be translated into A$.

See details on:

when your choice of currency ceases to be your main currency for accounts in subsection 960-90 of the ITAA 1997
when your functional currency choice withdrawal will take effect in items 1 and 2 of subsection 960-90(1) of the ITAA 1997
making a choice to use the new sole or predominant currency in which you keep your accounts in subsection 960-90(3) of the ITAA 1997.

Documenting your choice to use a non-Australian dollar applicable functional currency

When making your written choice to use a non-Australian dollar currency as your applicable functional currency, include all the following:

the name and tax file number of the entity making the choice
the use to which the functional currency is being put – for example, to work out taxable income or tax loss
the date the choice takes effect
the unit of account that the entity intends to use as its functional currency
the signature of the entity’s public officer and the date the written functional currency choice was signed.

You do not need to send your written functional currency choice to us. However, it should be available as part of your business’ tax records.

Non-functional currency amounts you receive or pay

All amounts included in working out your taxable income or tax loss must be in the applicable functional currency. This means you must translate all amounts you receive or pay in another currency, including A$ amounts, into the applicable functional currency.

The functional currency translation rules, including applicable exchange rates, follow the principles in the core foreign currency translation rules for translating foreign currency amounts to A$. This is covered in subsection 960-50(6) of Subdivision 960-C and also subsection 960-80(6) of Subdivision 960-D of the ITAA 1997.

However, the A$ is treated as a foreign currency while your applicable functional currency is not a foreign currency for the purposes of working out your taxable income or tax loss in the applicable functional currency. This is covered in subsection 960-80(1) of the ITAA 1997.

A foreign exchange (forex) realisation gain or loss may arise for certain amounts if there is a difference in prevailing exchange rates at the relevant times. For example, the exchange rate applicable at the time you incur an amount may be different from the exchange rate applicable when you pay it. In this situation, changes in the value of the A$ against the applicable functional currency can bring about a forex gain or loss – an example follows.

Example 1: trigger of foreign currency loss

Stellar Rex Incorporated (Stellar Rex), a USA company with a branch (permanent establishment) in Australia, chooses to account for their Australian branch’s taxable income in a functional currency. For Stellar Rex’s purposes, US dollars (US$) is the applicable functional currency and A$ is a foreign currency.

Stellar Rex contracts to purchase a depreciating asset from an Australian company in A$ as follows:

Year 1

Stellar Rex contracts to purchase the asset for A$10,000. Stellar Rex holds the asset from the date of contract.

At the contract time, A$1.00 = US$0.50.

Therefore, the cost of the asset in the applicable functional currency is US$5,000.

Year 2

Thirteen months after beginning to hold the asset, Stellar Rex pays A$10,000 for the asset.

At this time A$1.00 = US$0.55, so the A$10,000 Stellar Rex pays is equivalent to US$5,500.

A forex realisation loss of US$500 is made under Forex realisation event (FRE) 4 when Stellar Rex pays A$10,000 for the asset in year 2. As the payment was made more than 12 months after first holding the asset, the loss is not a short-term forex realisation loss – refer to section 775-75 of the ITAA 1997.

Therefore, Stellar Rex will take this loss into account as an allowable deduction when calculating the taxable income or tax loss of its Australian branch for year 2. The taxable income of the Australian branch is calculated in US$ and translated into A$ at the end of the tax year for the purpose of working out the amount of A$ income tax it is liable to pay.

End of example

Find out more about foreign currency translation (conversion) rules.

Pre-choice amounts

Special translation rules apply to amounts that are attributable to transactions or events that happened before your current functional currency choice took effect (‘pre-choice’ amounts). Pre-choice amounts that are relevant for working out your taxable income or tax loss for a year after your functional currency choice takes effect must be translated into your applicable functional currency in accordance with these special rules. This includes pre-choice amounts that are denominated in the same non-A$ currency as your applicable functional currency.

See details on:

If you haven’t previously made a functional currency choice, you should translate a relevant pre-choice amount as follows:

firstly, into A$ at the exchange rate applicable at the time of the transaction or event
secondly, into the applicable functional currency at the exchange rate at the time your functional currency choice took effect.

If you have previously made a choice to use a non-A$ currency as your applicable functional currency, you should translate a relevant pre-choice amount:

firstly, into the previous applicable functional currency at the exchange rate applicable at the time of the transaction or event
secondly, into the new applicable functional currency at the exchange rate at the time your new functional currency choice took effect.

Example 2: sale of assets acquired before making a functional currency choice

Fion Incorporated (FION), a non-resident corporation, operates through a permanent establishment in Australia. FION conducts most of its business in Yen (¥).

In the year ended 30 June (year 1) FION chooses to use ¥ as its applicable functional currency. The choice applies for the year commencing 1 July (year 2).

In the year ended 30 June (year 3) FION sells a tourist resort for ¥600 million, which it had purchased before year 1 for ¥500 million.

As FION’s applicable functional currency is ¥, the capital gain or capital loss on the disposal of the tourist resort will be calculated in ¥. However, FION had not made a choice to use ¥ as its applicable functional currency at the time it purchased the tourist resort – that is, it was still using A$ for tax purposes. Therefore, the ¥ cost of the resort is translated to A$ at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of the purchase. This A$ amount is then translated to ¥ at the exchange rate prevailing at the time FION’s choice to use ¥ as its applicable functional currency took effect.

For the purposes of this example, the exchange rates were:

A$1.00 = ¥68.50 at the time FION purchased the resort
A$1.00 = ¥62.00 at the time FION’s functional currency choice took effect.

This means the cost base for the purpose of calculating the capital gain or loss on the disposal of the tourist resort is:

(¥500,000,000 ÷ 68.50) × 62.00
= A$7,299,270 × 62.00
= ¥452,554,745.

The capital gain calculated in FION’s applicable functional currency is:

sale proceeds = ¥600,000,000
less ¥452,554,745
capital gain = ¥147,445,255.

End of example

Tax reporting and functional currency

The functional currency rules allow you to work out your taxable income or tax loss in your applicable functional currency. However, all tax reporting must still be expressed in A$. When reporting on your tax return or activity statement, work out the reported amounts in your applicable functional currency and then translate these amounts into A$.

For tax reporting purposes, when a translation is needed for label amounts (other than the taxable income amount), use the same translation rate as the taxable income translation rate. If you don’t have a taxable income amount in a given income year (that is, you have a tax loss), you should use the same rate you would have used to translate a taxable income amount into A$.

How to treat different amounts
Amount type	Treatment
Amounts used in working out taxable income or tax loss in the applicable functional currency (FC). Note sections 6AB and 6AC of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) with regard to foreign income and foreign tax and the ‘grossing-up’ of foreign income to include foreign tax paid.	Include the amount in the taxable income calculation in the FC before translating taxable income from the FC into A$.
Amounts used to work out taxable income or a tax loss that are in a foreign currency. For example: A$ amounts, including the ‘gross-up’ amount for a franked dividend amounts of foreign income, including the ‘gross-up’ amount for foreign tax paid in respect of that income. Section 6AC of the ITAA 1936 requires the amount of foreign income included in your assessable income to be ‘grossed-up’ to include any foreign tax you paid in relation to the foreign income. If you receive a franked dividend, section 207-20 of the ITAA 1997 requires you to ‘gross-up’ your assessable income by the amount of the franking credit – and also entitles you to a tax offset equal to the amount of the franking credit.	Translate into the FC using the applicable exchange rate for that amount. As ‘gross-up’ amounts contribute to the calculation of your taxable income or tax loss, you must translate them into the FC. Include the FC value in the taxable income calculation before translating taxable income from FC into A$ – see Example 3 and Example 4.
Carry-forward losses	Carry-forward losses are allowable deductions that reduce taxable income. Identify the carry forward loss amount in the FC from the previous income year. Include these amounts in the taxable income calculation in the FC before translating taxable income from FC into A$. When reporting the value of a tax loss, translate it from FC into A$.
Tax exempt amounts that reduce carry-forward losses	Tax exempt amounts that reduce carry-forward losses are translated into the FC generally upon being derived. They are then used to absorb the loss to the extent of their value. When reporting the value of a tax exempt amount, translate it into A$.
Foreign income tax offsets (FITO) Subsection 770-10(1) of the ITAA 1997 provides that you are entitled to a foreign income tax offset for foreign income tax you paid in respect of an amount of foreign income that is included in your assessable income in a year of income. (FITO in relation to the ‘attributable income’ of a CFC is not dealt with in this guide.)	The value of foreign income tax offset amounts is not used in working out taxable income, except for when calculating the ‘attributable income’ of a controlled foreign company (CFC) or transferor trust. The core foreign currency translation rules apply, and the value of foreign tax paid used to calculate foreign income tax offsets is translated into A$ when the foreign tax is paid – see Example 3.
Franking credits	A credit that arises in the franking account of an entity (a franking credit) is a tax offset. The amount of the tax offset you are entitled to as a result of receiving a franked dividend is not translated into your FC. Your tax offset amount will equal the A$ amount of the franking credit attached to the dividend you received before it was translated into functional currency. Add the A$ value of franking credits to your franking account without translation into FC – see Example 4. You must keep your franking account in A$.
Tax offsets and rebates	Tax offsets and rebates are not used to work out taxable income or a tax loss. The core foreign currency translation rules apply. If the amount is already in A$, then no translation takes place. If the amount is in a non-A$ currency, translate the amount into A$. Do not translate into FC first.
Values expressed in law Paragraph 960-80(2)(i) of the ITAA 1997 covers this.	Translate these amounts to FC at the applicable rate – see Example 5.

Example 3: foreign income tax offsets

In this example, you choose US dollars (US$) as your applicable functional currency.

Calculate your assessable income

¥115 = US$1.00 = A$2.00.

¥11,500 derived by you consisting of:

¥10,350 cash and ¥1,150 tax withheld in Japan.

To work out your taxable income, translate ¥11,500 into the US$ FC as follows:

¥11,500 = US$100 added to assessable income.

Taxable income in US$, including the amount you received in ¥, is translated into A$ at the end of the tax year. If, between the time you derived the income and tax year end, the relative value of the US$–A$ changes, this change will be reflected in the amount of A$ assessable income you will eventually bring to account. In this example, if at year end US$1.00 = A$1.75, then you will report the A$ assessable income you received from the ¥11,500 transaction as A$175.

Calculate your FITO

Translate the ¥1,150 tax withheld amount into A$ as follows:

¥1,150 = A$20.

A$20 is used in calculating the amount of the foreign income tax offset, being the lesser of the amount of the foreign tax paid or the Australian tax payable on the foreign income.

End of example

Example 4: franking credits

US$1.00 = A$2.00

XYZ Corporation (XYZ) is an Australian resident company, which chooses to use US$ as its applicable functional currency.

XYZ derives a fully franked dividend as follows:

A$70 cash.
A$30 gross-up amount (franking credit value).

To find out more, refer to subsection 207-20(1) of the ITAA 1997.

Assessable income calculation

XYZ translates A$100 ($70 + $30) into US$ as follows:

A$100 × 0.5 = US$50.

At the end of the tax year, US$50 (and other taxable income values) are translated into A$ at regulation rate.

Franking account balance

Add A$30 to franking account balance. No translation takes place.

End of example

Example 5: application of translation rule to a monetary limit

Exact Limited (Exact) has made a valid choice to use US$ as its applicable functional currency. In year 1, Exact purchases a car for US$40,000. At the time, the price is equivalent to A$72,700.

If the car limit under section 40-230 of the ITAA 1997 was A$60,000 in year 1, Exact would apply that provision by converting the limit to US$33,012. The first element of the US$ cost of a car is therefore reduced to that amount.

End of example

Mandatory application of functional currency for indirect Australian real property interests

If:

you are a foreign resident
a CGT event happens in relation to a CGT asset that is an indirect Australian real property interest for you, and
at the time of the CGT event, the sole or predominant currency in which you keep your accounts is a currency other than Australian currency

you must use the applicable functional currency to work out the amount of any capital gain or capital loss. Subsection 960-61(2) of the ITAA 1997 covers this.

This requirement applies to CGT events that happen on or after 12 December 2006.

Capital gains and losses

There are 2 steps to work out a capital gain or capital loss.

Step 1 translate an amount that is not in the applicable functional currency into the applicable functional currency.

Step 2 translate the amount of any capital gain or capital loss into Australian currency.

See more details at table item 6 of subsection 960-80(1) of the ITAA 1997.

Exchange rates to apply

Different exchange rates apply to the translation of amounts that are elements in the calculation of capital gain or loss.

See more details at subsection 960-80(4) of the ITAA 1997.

The exchange rate to be used when translating amounts will be either the:

rate at the time the costs are incurred
rate at the time of the CGT event.

Exchange rate applicable at the time the costs are incurred

Amounts relating to the payments made and costs incurred that form part of the cost base of a CGT asset, are translated into your functional currency at the exchange rate applicable at the time the costs are incurred.

See details in:

table item 5 of subsection 960-50(6) of the ITAA 1997
TR 2007/5 Income tax: functional currency – when is an amount not in the ‘applicable functional currency’? paragraphs 110 and 153.

Exchange rate applicable at the time of the CGT event

Amounts which are relevant for working out the capital gain or capital loss (capital proceeds or market value of other property) on the happening of a CGT event, are translated into the applicable functional currency at the exchange rate applicable at the time of the CGT event.

See details in:

Amount of capital gain or capital loss calculated in the applicable functional currency

This amount is translated into the Australian currency at the exchange rate applicable at the time of CGT event.

See details in:

table item 5 in subsection 960-50(6) of the ITAA 1997
TR 2007/5 Income tax: functional currency – when is an amount not in the ‘applicable functional currency’?

Reporting during the year

Business activity statements

When completing a business activity statement (BAS):

calculate your instalment income in the applicable functional currency
translate your instalment income into Australian dollars at the appropriate rate
complete label T1 of the BAS accordingly.

Company tax return

The functional currency rules allow some taxpayers to choose to work out their taxable income or tax loss by using a non-A$ currency as their applicable functional currency (FC).

All amounts disclosed on the company tax return must be disclosed in A$.

When a label amount is accounted for in a non-A$ FC, that sum should be translated into A$ using the same functional currency translation rate (shown at label 8N Functional currency translation rate of the company tax return) used to translate the taxable income or tax loss figure.

The following amounts are always accounted for in A$, and not in the FC:

Label 7 J Franking credits
Label 7 C Australian franking credits from a New Zealand Company.

The following amounts do not need to be translated into A$ before completion of the return:

Label 7 R Tax losses deducted
Label 7 S Tax losses transferred in.

Tax losses are allowable deductions from taxable income. If you carry forward losses, you should account for and claim them in your FC. Report any losses used during the income year at label 7R by translating the value of the loss used into A$ at the FC translation rate.

As mentioned above, label 8N is where you show the exchange rate used to translate the FC taxable income figure (and many other figures on the company tax return) into A$.

At label 8N, show the translation rate the company used to translate the taxable income figure from the FC into A$. The translation rate is the amount the FC amount is divided by to get an equivalent amount of A$. That is, the number of non-A$ currency units that equal one A$ rounded to 4 significant figures – see Examples for labels 8N and 8O.

Label 😯 – functional currency chosen

Label 😯 is where you show your chosen FC using the 3-letter code from the international standard ISO 4217 – ‘Currency codes’. See the list of Currency codes for label 😯.

Labels 8N and 😯 must be completed by:

Australian resident taxpayers who use FC to work out their taxable income or tax loss
foreign residents carrying on an activity or business at, or through, an Australian permanent establishment, who use FC to work out their taxable income or tax loss.

You should not complete labels 8N and 😯 if you are an Australian resident taxpayer using FC only to work out the attributable income of a controlled foreign company (CFC) or transferor trust.

The following are examples of correctly completed labels 8N and 8O. The exchange rates used are from 26 September 2003.

Examples for labels 8N and 😯
Applicable FC	Label N	Label O
US Dollar	.6695	USD
Yen	77.18	JPY
New Zealand Dollar	1.1385	NZD
Won	785.8	KRW
Rupiah	5679	IDR

As mentioned previously, if you choose to use FC, you should account for the value of any carry-forward losses using that FC.

The value of those tax losses and net capital losses carried forward to later income years should be reported in A$ at ‘Losses information’ – labels 13U and 13V – on the company tax return.

Calculation statement

The calculation statement on the company tax return shows you how to work out the amount of tax payable or refundable. It starts with the ‘Taxable income’ figure at label A. This figure should have been worked out earlier, using the applicable FC and then translated into A$.

Other figures in the calculation statement are either of the following:

A$ amounts, such as pay as you go (PAYG) instalments raised
amounts translated into A$ previously, such as any foreign income tax offset.

Currency codes for label 😯

These currency codes are from international standard ISO 4217 – Currency codes.

A–F, G–K, L–P, Q–U, V–Z

A

Afghan Afghani – AFN
Albanian Lek – ALL
Algerian Dinar – DZD
Angolan Kwanza – AOA
Argentine Peso – ARS
Armenian Dram – AMD
Aruban Guilder – AWG
Azerbaijani Manat – AZN

B

Bahamian Dollar – BSD
Bahraini Dinar – BHD
Bangladeshi Taka – BDT
Barbados Dollar – BBD
Belarusian Ruble – BYN
Belize Dollar – BZD
Bermudian Dollar – BMD
Bhutanese Ngultrum – BTN
Bolivian Boliviano – BOB
Bosnia & Herzegovina Convertible Marks – BAM
Botswanan Pula – BWP
Brazilian Real – BRL
British Pound – GBP
Brunei Dollar – BND
Bulgarian Lev – BGN
Burundi Franc – BIF

C

Cambodian Riel – KHR
Canadian Dollar – CAD
Cabo Verde Escudo – CVE
Cayman Islands Dollar – KYD
CFA Franc BCEAO – XOF
CFA Franc BEAC – XAF
CFP Franc – XPF
Chilean Peso – CLP
Chinese Yuan Renminbi – CNY
Colombian Peso – COP
Comorian Franc – KMF
Congolese Franc – CDF
Costa Rican Colon – CRC
Cuban Peso – CUP
Czech Koruna – CZK

D

Danish Krone – DKK
Djibouti Franc – DJF
Dominican Peso – DOP

E

East Caribbean Dollar – XCD
Egyptian Pound – EGP
El Salvador Colon – SVC
Eritrean Nakfa – ERN
Ethiopian Birr – ETB
Euro – EUR

F

Falkland Islands Pound – FKP
Fijian Dollar – FJD

G

Gambian Dalasi – GMD
Georgian Lari – GEL
Ghanaian Cedi – GHS
Gibraltar Pound – GIP
Guatemalan Quetzal – GTQ
Guernsey Pound Sterling – GBP
Guinean Franc – GNF
Guyanese Dollar – GYD

H

Haitian Gourde – HTG
Honduran Lempira – HNL
Hong Kong Dollar – HKD
Hungarian Forint – HUF

I

Icelandic Krona – ISK
Indian Rupee – INR
Indonesian Rupiah – IDR
Iranian Rial – IRR
Iraqi Dinar – IQD
Isle of Man Pound Sterling – GBP
Israeli New Sheqel – ILS

J

Jamaican Dollar – JMD
Japanese Yen – JPY
Jersey Pound Sterling – GBP
Jordanian Dinar – JOD

K

Kazakhstani Tenge – KZT
Kenyan Shilling – KES
Kuwaiti Dinar – KWD
Kyrgystani Som – KGS

L

Laotian Kip – LAK
Latvia Euro – EUR
Lebanese Pound – LBP
Lesotho Loti – LSL
Liberian Dollar – LRD
Libyan Dinar – LYD
Lithuania Euro – EUR

M

Macanese Pataca – MOP
Macedonia Denar – MKD
Malagasy Ariary – MGA
Malawian Kwacha – MWK
Malaysian Ringgit – MYR
Maldivian Rufiyaa – MVR
Mauritanian Ouguiya – MRU
Mauritius Rupee – MUR
Mexican Peso – MXN
Moldovan Leu – MDL
Mongolian Tugrik – MNT
Moroccan Dirham – MAD
Mozambique Metical – MZN
Myanmar Kyat – MMK

N

Namibia Dollar – NAD
Nepalese Rupee – NPR
Netherlands Antillean Guilder – ANG
New Zealand Dollar – NZD
Nicaraguan Cordoba Oro – NIO
Nigerian Naira – NGN
North Korean Won – KPW
Norwegian Krone – NOK

O

Omani Rial – OMR
Other – OTH

P

Pakistani Rupee – PKR
Panamanian Balboa – PAB
Papuan Kina – PGK
Paraguayan Guarani – PYG
Peruvian Nuevo Sol – PEN
Philippine Peso – PHP
Polish Zloty – PLN
Pound Sterling – GBP

Q

Qatari Rial – QAR

R

Romanian New Leu – RON
Russian Ruble – RUB
Rwandan Franc – RWF

S

Saint Helena Pound – SHP
Samoan Tala – WST
Sao Tome and Principe Dobra – STN
Saudi Riyal – SAR
Serbian Dinar – RSD
Seychelles Rupee – SCR
Sierra Leonean Leone – SLE
Singapore Dollar – SGD
Solomon Islands Dollar – SBD
Somali Shilling – SOS
South African Rand – ZAR
South Korean Won – KRW
South Sudanese Pound – SSP
Sri Lankan Rupee – LKR
Sudanese Pound – SDG
Surinam Dollar – SRD
Eswatini Lilangeni – SZL
Swedish Krona – SEK
Swiss Franc – CHF
Syrian Pound – SYP

T

Taiwanese New Dollar – TWD
Tajikistani Somoni – TJS
Tanzanian Shilling – TZS
Thai Baht – THB
Tongan Pa’anga – TOP
Trinidad and Tobago Dollar – TTD
Tunisian Dinar – TND
Turkish Lira – TRY
Turkmenistan New Manat – TMT
Tuvalu Australian Dollar – AUD

U

UAE Dirham – AED
Ugandan Shilling – UGX
Ukrainian Hryvnia – UAH
Uruguayan Peso – UYU
US Dollar – USD
Uzbekistan Sum – UZS

V

Vanuatuan Vatu – VUV
Venezuelan Bolivar Soberano – VES
Vietnamese Dong – VND

Y

Yemeni Rial – YER

Z

Zambian Kwacha – ZMW
Zimbabwe Gold – ZWG

MIL OSI News –

May 27, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Sullivan Highlights Need for “Golden Dome” Amid Evolving Threats from China and Russia

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Alaska Dan Sullivan
05.22.25
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), highlighted the need for President Trump’s planned “Golden Dome” missile defense system, and the critical role Alaska will play, in an interview with Greta Van Susteren last night on Newsmax. Sen. Sullivan, the leader on missile defense in Congress since coming to the Senate in 2015, attended an announcement this week at the White House on the Trump administration’s vision of a layered, integrated missile defense system to protect the United States from the intensifying threats and growing arsenals of China and Russia. Sullivan and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) will soon be introducing the GOLDEN DOME Act, which will complement the administration’s effort, including the President’s executive order on missile defense, signed on January 27, 2025. Additionally, the House-passed budget reconciliation bill includes a $25 billion down-payment for the Golden Dome system.
“The threats in terms of what the Golden Dome is going to focus on, they’ve increased,” said Sen. Sullivan. “It used to be just intercontinental ballistic missiles that we were worried about. Now it’s hypersonics that China has done a pretty darn good job at. Now it’s cruise missiles. To be honest, right now, Greta, without this Golden Dome, we don’t have any defenses on hypersonics. We don’t have any defenses on cruise missiles. I think it’s the responsible thing to do when you see new threats developing—we have those new threats—to take action against them. That’s what the President is doing. That’s what we’re doing here in the Congress.”
[embedded content]
Below is a full transcript of Sen. Sullivan’s interview on Newsmax.
VAN SUSTEREN: Okay. Talk about a really dumb business decision. No, not ours, but Russia’s. Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million. That won’t even buy you a house in Hollywood. The sale was a while ago. It was back in 1867. But, still, it was so smart of the United States and so dumb of Russia to sell it. It’s not just an acre too they sold us. Alaska is the size of 19 other United States combined, twice the size of Texas. And get this: Alaska has only 740,000 residents. That is what Seattle, Washington has—just one city has here in the United States. Why am I mentioning this? Because President Trump has his eyes on Alaska. Alaska is going to play a big role in Trump’s Golden Dome for America plan.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Alaska is involved and Alaska is a big part of it because the location is sort of perfect. I think it’s your first line of defense in certain instances.
VAN SUSTEREN: Speaking of Alaska’s geographic location, I should note, though, that at its closest point to Russia, Alaska from Russia is less than three miles. The United States’ Adak naval base is about 800 miles. Alaska’s U.S. Senator, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Dan Sullivan, joins me. Good evening, sir, and why do we need the Golden Dome?
SULLIVAN: Well, good evening, Greta. I was in the Oval Office yesterday with the President when he was talking about the Golden Dome and talking about Alaska’s key role in that. It’s a great vision of President Trump. By the way, it’s continued leadership by President Trump. He was working on big missile defense during his first term. Of course, Joe Biden didn’t do anything in this area. Now, during his second term, President Trump has laid out this vision of a Golden Dome that can protect all of America through layered defenses, starting, of course, with Alaska—our ground-based missile interceptors that are based there already, our radar systems based throughout our state, including in the Aleutian Islands. This vision, which the Congress fully supports, is going to move forward into space. It’s going to have space-based sensors, space-based interceptors, and an open architecture that brings in data and new software to bring it all together. It’s a great vision. We had a big day in the Oval Office. Alaska is going to play a big role. But I will tell you, President Trump’s leadership is driving this, and it’s something that no other country can do, and we’re going to do it.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Well it’s got a huge price tag. The President said $150 billion. I read it’s $850 billion over ten years. But this is Washington, where we play with a lot of numbers. But China sees this as an offensive military action by us, not defensive. Is it offensive or defensive?
SULLIVAN: It’s defensive, right? If you listen to President Trump yesterday, he said exactly what this is. It builds on the vision that Ronald Reagan put forward during his term. It’s just that, during the Reagan administration, we didn’t have the technology to do this. Now we do have the technology to do this, and that’s why it’s so important that we should. But it’s also very defensive. The reason China and Russia are so upset about this is, it’s the reason the Soviet Union was upset about what Ronald Reagan was trying to do in the 1980s—because they can’t do this. This is going to make Americans safer. When you have the ability to do that, and the President’s focused on it, I think that’s what a smart commander in chief does.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is the technology profoundly different than the Iron Dome in Israel, which detects by radar a missile coming in and then shoots up and gets the missile. Is this technology different?
SULLIVAN: It’s different in that it’s obviously much bigger. It covers a much greater area. That’s one area that I’ve worked on in the Senate is the cooperation between the United States and Israel with regard to the Iron Dome. The U.S. played an important role in the technology and the research that went into Israel’s Iron Dome. The Israelis came actually, Greta, to Alaska and tested elements of the Iron Dome on Kodiak Island a couple of years ago. But this is much bigger. I will tell you, the big difference is, it’s not just the ground-based missile interceptors that we have in places like Alaska that can take out intercontinental ballistic missiles. It’s the space layer. That’s really different. That’s important. The space layer in the Golden Dome is going to be not only detecting missiles and detecting threats, but intercepting them, shooting them down from space. That’s something different. That’s a much more significant technology, but we have the capacity to do it. That’s what is exciting. We need to do it.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Obviously, I want to protect the United States. I want to be safe myself. But the other thing, too, is, I don’t want to rattle the cage of China. Then we get in basically into an arms race, for lack of better terms, with Russia and China over this. The thing that bothers me more than that—I’m less worried about missiles coming in than I am of gain of function viruses, because that is—you can sneak it in on the next United Airlines or American Airlines flight in from overseas and you can take out an entire population. So while we’re spending all these billions of dollars that—I worry about China and their labs or anybody else.
SULLIVAN: The bio threats that we have are very real. So I would agree with you on that. But we’re a great nation, and we can focus on different threats at different times. But there’s no doubt that the threat of bioterrorism is something we’ve got to focus on. But the threats in terms of what the Golden Dome is going to focus on, they’ve increased. What do I mean by that? It used to be just intercontinental ballistic missiles that we were worried about. Now it’s hypersonics that China has done a pretty darn good job at. Now it’s cruise missiles. To be honest, right now, Greta, without this Golden Dome, we don’t have any defenses on hypersonics. We don’t have any defenses on cruise missiles. I think it’s the responsible thing to do when you see new threats developing—we have those new threats—to take action against them. That’s what the president is doing. That’s what we’re doing here in the Congress. We already have in the budget reconciliation a down payment on the Golden Dome for about $25 billion in the bill we’re working on right now. I am working on legislation that we’re introducing soon with Senator Cramer that we briefed the President on—the Golden Dome legislation—to make sure this is embedded in the law. We’re going to be introducing that soon. So you have the Congress backing this initiative, and leadership by the President to address new threats. They’re out there. I think that’s what responsible leaders do, and that’s what the President is doing.
VAN SUSTEREN: Senator, thank you very much. I hope you come back next time. Let’s talk about how people come up with these numbers of how the cost is—who’s putting the price tags on this. We’ll talk about that next time. Senator Dan Sullivan from the great state of Alaska. Thank you, sir.

MIL OSI USA News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: The 4th China-CEEC Expo and International Consumer Goods Fair opened in Ningbo, China

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

NINGBO, May 23 (Xinhua) — The 4th China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE) Expo and International Consumer Goods Fair kicked off in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on Thursday.

The event, which takes place from 22 to 25 May, is attended not only by companies from 14 CEE countries, but also by exhibitors from Western European countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Italy, etc.

It is worth noting that the exhibition area, number of participants and products within the event broke the historical record. In particular, the exhibition area for enterprises from the Central and Eastern European countries is about 20 thousand square meters, where more than 8 thousand names of goods from these countries will be presented.

The exhibition will be visited by more than 15,000 people, including more than 3,000 overseas buyers from 72 countries and regions. It is expected that the volume of import purchases from CEE countries may exceed 10 billion yuan.

According to the data, since 2012, China’s trade with CEE countries has grown by an average of 8.8 percent per year, while imports from these countries have grown by an average of 7.4 percent per year, outpacing the growth rate of China’s foreign trade over the period.

In addition, in 2024, trade volume between China and CEE countries increased by 6.3 percent year-on-year to reach a record high of US$142.3 billion.

The China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair, jointly organized by the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, was first launched in 2019 with the aim of introducing products from CEECs to the Chinese market, expanding exports of products from CEECs to China, and promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between China and CEECs. -0-

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese and Dutch Foreign Ministers Reach Six-Point Consensus During Beijing Talks

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his visiting Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp on Thursday.

During the talks, Wang Yi, also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, said China is willing to step up communication and dialogue with the Netherlands, deepen practical cooperation and strengthen cooperation in multilateral formats, thereby making new contributions to the development of China-EU relations, global economic recovery and the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

China has introduced a series of new opening-up measures and welcomes the Netherlands to seize the opportunities, Wang said, also expressing hope that the Netherlands will provide a fair, honest and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.

K. Veldkamp, in turn, stated that the Dutch side adheres to the one-China policy and is ready to work with China to further strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen practical cooperation and maintain commitment to multilateralism.

According to him, relations between Europe and China are of vital importance and the Netherlands is ready to make active efforts to strengthen EU-China relations.

Following the negotiations, the parties reached a six-point consensus.

Mutual readiness was expressed to maintain close exchanges and deepen practical cooperation in the trade, economic, scientific, technical, agricultural and water management fields.

The parties agreed to maintain close communication on cooperation in various areas, including semiconductor technologies, through existing channels.

Both sides reaffirmed their support for multilateralism, pledging to uphold the principles of free trade and the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, and strengthening exchanges and cooperation in areas such as climate change adaptation and green transformation.

The parties also agreed that serious global action is required to ensure equal rights for all, especially women and girls, and expressed their commitment to work together to achieve this goal. -0-

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: 8 People Presumed Missing After Landslides in South China

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

NANNING, May 23 (Xinhua) — Mountain floods and mudslides hit a village in Longsheng County, capital of Guilin City, early Friday morning. According to preliminary estimates by local authorities, eight people are believed to be missing after landslides and 10 houses were damaged.

Rescue operations continue. -0-

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Belarus and Italy confirmed their readiness to continue political contacts

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

MINSK, May 23 (Xinhua) — Belarus and Italy have confirmed their readiness to continue political contacts. Such an agreement was reached at a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Igor Sekret and Chargé d’Affaires of Italy in Belarus Tomaso Pietro Marchegiani. The corresponding information was published on Thursday by the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry.

During the meeting, the diplomats discussed the state and prospects for the development of bilateral relations, confirming their readiness to continue political contacts. The interlocutors also exchanged views on current topics on the international agenda. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: IIS-3 gaining popularity among broker clients

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Central Bank of Russia –

In January-March, the growth of brokerage IIS slowed down compared to the fourth quarter (82 thousand versus 137 thousand), but remains significantly higher than at the beginning of 2024, when this instrument first appeared on the market and investors assessed its advantages.

According to the largest market participants, a total of about 866 thousand IIS of the third type were opened (198 thousand in the first quarter of 2025). Over 90% are new accounts, the rest were converted from IIS of the first and second types.

Despite the fact that the inflow of funds to IIS has decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter, it still remains at a high level. Net client contributions and positive revaluation of securities contributed to the growth of IIS portfolios — up to 637 billion rubles. According to the largest companies, the value of assets in IIS type 3 alone amounted to 183 billion rubles (67 billion rubles per quarter).

Read more in the article “Trends in the Individual Investment Accounts Segment in Q1 2025”.

Preview photo: dotshock / Shutterstock / Fotodom

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

HTTPS: //vv. KBR.ru/Press/Event/? ID = 24619

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: More than 300 road facilities are planned to be built and reconstructed this year

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Bridge crossing over the Ob River near the city of Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug

Large-scale construction and reconstruction work on sections of the regional and local road network, as well as artificial structures, continues in the country’s regions. By the end of 2025, more than 300 such facilities are planned to be commissioned under all regional programs with federal funding, including more than 100 sections of roads, bridges and overpasses, thanks to the national project “Infrastructure for Life”. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

“Thanks to the construction and reconstruction of road facilities, the most important tasks of modernizing the country’s road network and regional development are being solved. New and renovated roads and bridges help connect remote settlements with regional centers, reduce travel time, and improve logistics. In order to achieve the indicators of the national project “Infrastructure for Life”, this year we plan to commission more than 300 regional and local construction and reconstruction facilities with a total length of more than 1.1 thousand km. These are transport interchanges, sections of main streets, bridges and overpasses,” said Marat Khusnullin.

Many large-scale projects are implemented over several road construction seasons.

“Today, construction and reconstruction work is being carried out in Russian regions on more than 260 road projects scheduled for commissioning this year. In the process of construction and installation work, contractors use the best engineering solutions and the latest materials. The professionalism of road and bridge builders, the competent organization of the production process allow us to hand over large-scale capital-intensive projects with unfailing quality and compliance with the planned work deadlines,” said Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit.

An important factor that directly influences the successful implementation of large projects is uninterrupted financing.

“Thanks to the support of the President and the Government of our country, unprecedented funding is being allocated for road activities. This year alone, about 150 billion rubles have been allocated for construction and reconstruction activities within the framework of the federal project “Regional and Local Road Network”, of which over 84 billion rubles are federal budget funds. This will allow us to carry out work at key road infrastructure facilities at an accelerated pace,” said Igor Kostyuchenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Road Agency.

Among the largest projects in 2025 is the construction of the Yuzhno-Lytkarinskaya Highway (YULA) in the Moscow Region. The project includes the construction of a 45-kilometer highway, as well as 64 artificial structures: 11 interchanges, 27 overpasses and 10 bridges. Among them is a bridge across the Moskva River with a length of 600 linear meters. As of today, the construction readiness of the facility is 49.6%.

The highway will provide direct access to settlements in the Lyubertsy, Lytkarino, Leninsky, Ramensky districts, as well as to the Domodedovo and Zhukovsky international airports, and will relieve the eastern part of the Moscow Ring Road by a third. And its integration with the Moscow road framework (South-Eastern and North-Eastern chords) will provide a direct connection with the international transport corridors “North-South” and “West-East”, as well as an exit to the M-12 “East”.

In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, a second bridge crossing over the Ob River is being built near the city of Surgut. Its construction readiness is 70.9%. The large-scale infrastructure project includes, among other things, a four-lane bridge over the Ob River with a length of about 1.8 thousand linear meters. It is planned that the new bridge crossing will provide passage for about 13 thousand cars per day, will allow for the redistribution of traffic flows bypassing the city, and will also take on the main traffic load of two federal transport corridors: Tyumen – Surgut – Salekhard and Perm – Khanty-Mansiysk – Nizhnevartovsk – Tomsk.

Two road projects are being built in the Altai Republic. A bridge is being built across the Katun River in the Mayminsky District of the region. The project will connect the region with the Altai Territory and provide transport accessibility to the village of Podgorny. In the Chemalsky District, the Urlu-Aspak – Karakol highway is being built. Previously, 5.3 km of the highway were commissioned. This year, another 10 km are planned to be built under the national project “Infrastructure for Life”. The road leads to a group of seven picturesque mountain lakes in the north of the Altai Mountains. They are located on the western slope of the Iolgo Ridge, the watershed of the Biya and Katun Rivers, at the foot of the Bagatash Pass. The construction of the Urlu-Aspak – Karakol road will redistribute traffic flows, relieve the federal highway R-256 “Chuisky Tract” and ensure safe access to the Karakol Lakes.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Botnet Dismantled in International Operation, Russian and Kazakhstani Administrators Indicted

Source: US FBI

TULSA, Okla. – A domain seizure warrant was unsealed, along with an indictment charging four foreign national hackers with conspiracy and other computer crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Russian nationals, Alexey Viktorovich Chertkov, 37, Kirill Vladimirovich Morozov, 41, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Shishkin, 36, and Dmitriy Rubtsov, 38, a Kazakhstani national, were charged with Conspiracy and Damage to Protected Computers for conspiring with others to maintain, operate, and profit from botnet services known as Anyproxy and 5socks.

The Indictment alleges that a botnet was created by infecting older-model wireless internet routers worldwide, including in the United States, using malware without their owners’ knowledge. The installed malware allowed the routers to be reconfigured, granting unauthorized access to third parties and making the routers available for sale as proxy servers on the Anyproxy.net and 5socks.net websites. Both website domains were managed by a company headquartered in Virginia and hosted on computer servers worldwide.

Additional court documents reveal that the 5socks.net website advertised more than 7,000 proxies for sale worldwide, including in the United States. Users paid a monthly subscription fee, ranging from $9.95 to $110 per month. The website’s slogan, “Working since 2004!”, indicates that the service has been available for more than 20 years. The defendants are believed to have amassed more than $46 million from selling access to the infected routers that were part of the Anyproxy botnet.

Chertkov and Rubtsov are additionally charged with False Registration of a Domain Name. They allegedly falsely identified themselves when they registered and used the domains Anyproxy.net and 5socks.net during the commission of these
felony crimes.

During the investigation, the FBI’s Oklahoma City Cyber Task Force discovered that business and residential routers in Oklahoma had malware installed without the users’ knowledge.

Pursuant to a seizure warrant in the Eastern District of Virginia and in conjunction with the unsealing of the Indictment in the Northern District of Oklahoma, the FBI seized the Anyproxy.net and 5socks.net domain names. The botnet overseas was also seized and disabled by foreign law enforcement partners.

The FBI Oklahoma City Cyber Task Force is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Jiang and Christopher J. Nassar, with the Northern District of Oklahoma, are prosecuting the case, along with Ryan K.J. Dickey and Jane Lee, Senior Counsel from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

The Justice Department collaborated closely with investigators and prosecutors from multiple jurisdictions in this investigation, including the Eastern District of Virginia, the Dutch National Police – Amsterdam Region, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie), and the Royal Thai Police. Black Lotus Labs of Lumen Technologies, Inc., provided significant assistance and worked closely with investigators.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL Security OSI –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Xiaomi Unveils 3nm Mobile Chip of Its Own Design

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) — Chinese tech firm Xiaomi has officially unveiled its first 3-nanometer mobile chip, dubbed Xring O1.

The unveiling took place in Beijing on Thursday evening. Xiaomi founder and chairman Lei Jun said the new chip, which features a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, will deliver an improved user experience.

According to experts, Xring O1 is a major breakthrough for Xiaomi in terms of chip R&D capabilities.

The new chip has already entered serial production and is integrated into the company’s latest flagship products – the Xiaomi 15S Pro smartphone and the Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra tablet.

It took Xiaomi 10 years to develop Xring O1. Since 2021, the company has invested over 13 billion yuan (about 1.8 billion US dollars) in the project, and the R&D team has more than 2,500 people.

According to Lei Jun, Xiaomi plans to invest 200 billion yuan in R&D in key technologies including operating systems, artificial intelligence and chips in the next five years. -0-

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Two killed, eight injured in small plane crash in San Diego, US

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

LOS ANGELES, May 22 (Xinhua) — At least two people were killed and eight others were injured when a small plane crashed into a residential area in the southwestern U.S. city of San Diego early Thursday, local authorities said.

The San Diego Police Department reported on social media site X that the crash damaged about 10 buildings in the area.

Local authorities confirmed that a small Cessna plane crashed in the Murphy Canyon area at around 04:00 local time.

Several homes and cars caught fire as a result of the crash, city fire spokesman Dan Eddy told the media.

“There is jet fuel everywhere. We have hazmat specialists on site now and we have requested additional resources for that,” Eddy said.

He said all the victims were on the plane, which could hold up to 10 people. Officials do not yet know how many people were on board.

About 100 local residents were evacuated after the crash. Authorities confirmed that the damaged residential buildings were in a military town. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: North Korea launches full-scale investigation into incident during launch of new destroyer

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

PYONGYANG, May 23 (Xinhua) — A North Korean investigative team has launched a “full-scale investigation” into a serious incident that occurred during the launch of a new destroyer at the Chongjin shipyard on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday.

The investigation team into the accident includes representatives of the prosecutor’s office and relevant experts, KCNA said in a statement.

“A detailed underwater and internal inspection of the destroyer confirmed that, contrary to the initial announcement, there were no holes in the bottom of the vessel, the starboard side of the hull was scratched, and a small amount of water flowed into the stern through a structural channel,” KCNA reported, citing the results of the investigation.

Experts estimate that it will take two to three days to pump out the sea water, and more than 10 days to restore the ship’s side. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: FBI Director Announces Chinese Botnet Disruption, Exposes Flax Typhoon Hacker Group’s True Identity at Aspen Cyber Summit
Source: US FBI

The FBI and our partners disrupted a Chinese botnet and freed thousands of impacted devices from its clutches, Director Christopher Wray announced September 18.

The botnet, which was operated by a Chinese government-sponsored hacker group known as Flax Typhoon, targeted internet-connected devices such as storage devices, cameras, and video recorders to compromise victims’ systems and steal their confidential data, Director Wray said during a keynote at the 2024 Aspen Cyber Summit in Washington, D.C.

“Ultimately, as part of this operation, we were able to identify thousands of infected devices, and, then, with court authorization, issued commands to remove the malware from them, prying them from China’s grip,” Wray said.

Approximately half of the devices under the botnet’s control were based in the United States, he noted. The hacker group’s targets included organizations in the public and private sectors, as well as academia and the media, he added. Wray also revealed the hacker group’s true identity to be an information security company known as the Integrity Technology Group. “But their chairman has publicly admitted that for years his company has collected intelligence and performed reconnaissance for Chinese government security agencies,” Wray added.

Wray called the cyber disruption a success but cautioned that the effort was “just one round in a much longer fight.”

“The Chinese government is going to continue to target your organizations and our critical infrastructure—either by their own hand or concealed through their proxies,” Wray said. “And we’ll continue to work with our partners to identify their malicious activity, disrupt their hacking campaigns, and bring them to light.”

Saving victims time and money

During his remarks, Wray also underscored the Bureau’s dedication to working with victims of cyber intrusions, whether they’re individuals or organizations. According to Wray, reporting ransomware attacks to the FBI can potentially help us:
- Recover ransomed data
- Negotiate-down ransoms demanded by cybercriminals—or spare victims from having to pay ransoms at all
- Help impacted organizations resume their normal operations in a speedy manner
“I’m extremely proud to report that, in just the past two years, the FBI has handed out nearly 1,000 decryptors, and we’ve saved victims around the world something like $800 million in ransom payments,” Wray said.

Decryptors—also known as decryption keys—function like passwords to unlock data that ransomware criminals hold captive. But, Wray explained, some of those keys require information about the victim to work.

So it’s paramount that organizations contact the FBI if they fall victim to ransomware attacks. Otherwise, he cautioned, the Bureau “might not be able to make that match—and we might not be able to save you that ransom payment.”

Wray also discussed how information sharing between the Bureau and our public and private sector partners can help the FBI combat ongoing cyberattacks and lessen the impact of future cyber incidents.

As an example, he pointed to a recent interagency effort to alert the private sector that a pro-Russian hacktivist group was targeting “operational technology networks.”

“They had set their sights across our critical infrastructure—from dams and wastewater systems to the energy, food, and agriculture sectors,” Wray explained.

But, he said, the FBI’s joint advisory about the cyber threat allowed private sector organizations to fix the vulnerability these bad actors were using to infiltrate networks, thereby protecting the companies and the American public, alike.

“So, if there’s only one thing you take away from my time here today, I hope it’s this: The FBI needs and wants to work with you,” Wray said. “Let us save you money, save you time, and save you from future attacks so that you can keep your organization’s focus where it should be: on your operations, and—together—we can help keep our nation safe.”

West Palm Beach investigation updates

During his remarks, Wray also addressed the Bureau’s investigation into the September 15 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

“For the second time in just over two months, we’ve witnessed what appears to be an attempt to attack our democracy and our democratic process,” he said. “I’m relieved that former President Trump is safe, and I want the American people to know the men and women of the FBI are working tirelessly to get to the bottom of what happened.”

Wray acknowledged that the ongoing nature of the investigation limited how much the Bureau could say about the matter.

“What I can say is that we have dedicated the full force of the FBI to this investigation, and that runs the gamut from criminal to national security resources, from tactical support to Evidence Response Teams, from forensic scientists to operational technology personnel,” he said.“Together, we’re working around the clock to investigate this.”

MIL Security OSI –
May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: President and CEO of Las Vegas-Based Company Pleads Guilty for Role in Investment Fraud Scheme Where He Stole Millions in Victim Investor Funds

Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS – A Nevada man pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of wire fraud stemming from his role in a years-long fraud scheme, during which he stole more than $6.1 million in victim investor funds.

According to court documents, Mykalai Kontilai, formerly Michael Contile, 55, of Las Vegas, facilitated an investment fraud scheme involving his company, Collector’s Coffee Inc., doing business as Collector’s Café (Collector’s Coffee), a company incorporated in California and headquartered in Las Vegas. From 2012 to 2018, Kontilai made or caused to be made numerous materially false and misleading representations to induce victims to invest in Collector’s Coffee — a company he claimed was on the verge of launching an online auction house for third-party owned collectibles, such as Hollywood and sport memorabilia. As a result of Kontilai’s numerous false and misleading statements, including that investor funds would be used for legitimate business purposes, that Kontilai had personally invested millions of his own money in the company, and that he did not take a salary, Kontilai successfully raised approximately $23 million from Collector’s Coffee investors. However, rather than using the proceeds as represented, Kontilai stole approximately $6.1 million for his own personal use, including for the purchase of luxury goods, apartments, and vehicles.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating Kontilai for misappropriating investor funds in or around 2017. Kontilai obstructed the investigation by forging documents that he caused to be transmitted to the SEC and lied under oath to the SEC. Kontilai was charged in connection with this conduct both in the present case on June 3, 2020, and in a separate case in the District of Colorado on March 10, 2020. While under investigation but prior to charging, Kontilai fled to Russia and was ultimately arrested on an Interpol Red Notice in Germany in 2023. He was extradited back to the United States to face the pending charges in May. As part of the plea agreement in this case, the government will move to dismiss the Colorado case at sentencing.

Kontilai pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 4 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada; Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans of the FBI Las Vegas Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Carissa Messick of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the extradition from Germany of Kontilai.

Trial Attorneys Brandon Burkart and Sara Hallmark of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (FRD) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Oliva for the District of Nevada prosecuted this case. Former FRD Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs provided valuable assistance.

###

MIL Security OSI –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: President and CEO of Las Vegas-Based Company Sentenced for Role in Investment Fraud Scheme Where He Stole Millions in Victim Investor Funds

Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada man was sentenced yesterday to 51 months in prison and was ordered to pay $6.1 million in restitution stemming from his role in a years-long fraud scheme.

According to court documents, Mykalai Kontilai, formerly Michael Contile, 55, of Las Vegas, facilitated an investment fraud scheme involving his company, Collector’s Coffee Inc., doing business as Collector’s Café (Collector’s Coffee), a company incorporated in California and headquartered in Las Vegas. From 2012 to 2018, Kontilai made or caused to be made numerous materially false and misleading representations to induce victims to invest in Collector’s Coffee — a company he claimed was on the verge of launching an online auction house for third-party owned collectibles, such as Hollywood and sport memorabilia. As a result of Kontilai’s numerous false and misleading statements, including that investor funds would be used for legitimate business purposes, that Kontilai had personally invested millions of his own money in the company, and that he did not take a salary, Kontilai successfully raised approximately $23 million from Collector’s Coffee investors. However, rather than using the proceeds as represented, Kontilai stole approximately $6.1 million for his own personal use, including for the purchase of luxury goods, apartments, and vehicles.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating Kontilai for misappropriating investor funds in or around 2017. Kontilai obstructed the investigation by forging documents that he caused to be transmitted to the SEC and lied under oath to the SEC. Kontilai was charged in connection with this conduct both in the present case on June 3, 2020, and in a separate case in the District of Colorado on March 10, 2020. While under investigation but prior to charging, Kontilai fled to Russia and was ultimately arrested on an Interpol Red Notice in Germany in 2023. He was extradited back to the United States to face the pending charges in May.

On Nov. 21, Kontilai pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. As part of the plea agreement in this case, the government has moved to dismiss the Colorado case.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada; Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans of the FBI Las Vegas Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Carissa Messick, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Phoenix Field Office made the announcement.

FBI and IRS-CI investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the extradition from Germany of Kontilai.

Trial Attorneys Brandon Burkart and Sara Hallmark of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Oliva for the District of Nevada prosecuted this case. Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs provided valuable assistance.

###

MIL Security OSI –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Pelham Man Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison on Child Exploitation Charges

Source: US FBI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Pelham man was sentenced today on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Kelly J. Blackmon.

U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Neal Richard Goodacre, 54, to 960 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release. In July, Goodacre pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. These convictions will require Goodacre to register as a sex offender in accordance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

According to the plea agreement, in July 2023, the Queensland, Australia, Child Exploitation Task Force discovered images of child pornography on a Russian file-sharing website. Queensland officers connected the account used to post the images to Goodacre at a residence in Pelham, Alabama. On September 13, 2023, HSI executed a search warrant at Goodacre’s residence. Agents recovered two electronic devices containing 29 images and one video of child pornography. Goodacre produced some of the child pornography he possessed.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case along with the Queensland, Australia, Child Exploitation Task Force and the Pelham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted the case.

If you suspect or become aware of possible sexual exploitation of a child, please contact law enforcement. To alert the FBI Birmingham Office, call 205-326-6166. Reports can also be filed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or online at www.cybertipline.org.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

MIL Security OSI –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Large IT businesses view Novosibirsk State University as a key university for training specialists in this industry for Siberia

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

A strategic session with the participation of representatives of one of the largest Russian IT holdings, the T1 Group of Companies, was held at Novosibirsk State University. Following the meeting, the parties expressed mutual interest in deepening cooperation and announced the start of work on roadmaps for the implementation of joint projects in the educational and technological tracks.

Opening the meeting, the rector of NSU, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Fedoruk noted:

— Cooperation with T1 is developing rapidly. This distinguishes the holding from many other companies wishing to become our industrial partners. We hope that further joint work will bring tangible and mutually beneficial results.

According to Mikhail Knigin, head of the Integration domain of the holding, T1 plans to build systematic work on training personnel specifically in the Novosibirsk region:

— We work all over the country, Siberia is an important region for us, and we want to see NSU as a flagship university here. Already now, about 80 NSU graduates work in our companies — the growth of this number will become one of the metrics of the partnership’s effectiveness.

Ksenia Rumbest, Director of the Corporate Training and Talent Development Department and Head of the T1 Digital Academy, spoke about the practice of training young specialists. One of the largest projects was the T1 IT Camp, where about 1,000 participants were trained last year. The best 150 were invited to the in-person stage of the program, and some of them then became employees of the holding’s companies.

This year, according to her, it is planned to launch regional camps based at universities. The introduction of the “open schools” format was also discussed – five-week intensive courses to develop professional competencies. About 40% of graduates of such schools get jobs at T1, the rest go to other leading Russian and international IT companies.

“We are ready to offer these courses to the university as additional education, and also invite students for internships during the academic year,” Rumbest emphasized.

Cooperation between NSU and the holding can develop not only in the educational, but also in the scientific and technological sphere. The session presented the project “SPHERE” – a domestic platform for managing the full cycle of software development, including tools for project management, code analysis, testing, monitoring and automation of business processes.

An additional area of interaction may be joint work in the field of artificial intelligence. The AI Center, which develops technologies for the digitalization of the urban environment, has been operating at NSU for the second year. The head of the center, Alexander Lyulko, spoke about developments in creating platforms for managing urban infrastructure, creating intelligent systems for monitoring the environmental situation, as well as AI solutions for transport, medicine and construction. The latest projects have attracted the greatest interest from representatives of the holding.

Reference:

T1 is one of the leaders of the domestic IT market with more than 30 years of history. The holding includes companies providing a full range of IT services: from software development and system integration to cloud solutions, big data analysis, artificial intelligence, information security and industrial outsourcing. Key areas of work include digital transformation of businesses and government agencies. The company has more than 26 thousand employees, revenue for 2024 is 249.6 billion rubles.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: China launches first digital platform dedicated to tropical biodiversity

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

KUNMING, May 23 (Xinhua) — China launched the country’s first digital platform dedicated to tropical biodiversity on Thursday to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity.

The biodiversity platform, hosted by the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), offers global access to more than 90,000 species records.

Xishuangbanna in southwest China’s Yunnan Province is one of the country’s areas where an intact tropical ecosystem has been preserved. It is home to a sixth of the country’s plant species and a quarter of its animal species.

The new platform contains more than 90,000 records covering 5,236 animal species, 9,779 plant species and 607 fungi species.

The platform was jointly launched by the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden and the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. In order to promote the integration of scientific research, biology popularization and nature conservation, it will continue to expand functions such as intelligent biological image recognition, artificial intelligence-based science popularization, etc. -0-

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025

MIL-OSI: FRO – First Quarter 2025 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

FRONTLINE PLC REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2025

Frontline plc (the “Company”, “Frontline,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), today reported unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2025:

Highlights

Profit of $33.3 million, or $0.15 per share for the first quarter of 2025.
Adjusted profit of $40.4 million, or $0.18 per share for the first quarter of 2025.
Declared a cash dividend of $0.18 per share for the first quarter of 2025.
Reported revenues of $427.9 million for the first quarter of 2025.
Achieved average daily spot time charter equivalent earnings (“TCEs”)¹ for VLCCs, Suezmax tankers and LR2/Aframax tankers in the first quarter of $37,200, $31,200 and $22,300 per day, respectively.
Entered into three senior secured credit facilities in February 2025 for a total amount of up to $239.0 million to refinance the outstanding debt on three VLCCs and one Suezmax tanker maturing in 2025 and, in addition, provide revolving credit capacity in a total amount of up to $91.9 million.
Entered into one senior secured term loan facility in April 2025 in an amount of up to $1,286.5 million to refinance the outstanding debt on 24 VLCCs approximately three and a half years prior to maturity to reduce the margin.

Lars H. Barstad, Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS, commented:

“The first quarter of 2025 came in line with the previous quarter, somewhat muted relative to the economic and political backdrop during the period. In times of uncertainty, it’s comforting to operate in an industry that maintains business as usual, transporting oil and products around the world at a steady pace. Utilization on the larger ships has improved during the quarter and with continued pressure and enforcement on sanctioned trades, we have seen healthy developments in activity across the segments that Frontline deploys. Fleet growth remains slow, and ordering has again stalled, continuing to support the long-term fundamental story for tankers, where Frontline is ideally positioned with its cost-focused business model and spot-exposed, modern fleet.”

Inger M. Klemp, Chief Financial Officer of Frontline Management AS, added:

“Through our refinancings in 2025, we have further strengthened our strong liquidity, leaving the Company with no meaningful debt maturities until 2030, and further reduced our borrowing costs and cash breakeven rates. We continue to focus on maintaining our competitive cost structure, breakeven levels and solid balance sheet to ensure that we are well positioned to generate significant cash flow and create value for our shareholders.”

Average daily TCEs and estimated cash breakeven rates

($ per day)	Spot TCE			Spot TCE currently contracted	% Covered	Estimated average daily cash breakeven rates for the next 12 months
	Q1 2025	Q4 2024	2024	Q2 2025
VLCC	37,200	35,900	43,400	56,400	68%	29,700
Suezmax	31,200	33,300	41,400	44,900	69%	24,300
LR2 / Aframax	22,300	26,100	42,300	36,100	66%	23,300

We expect the spot TCEs for the full second quarter of 2025 to be lower than the spot TCEs currently contracted, due to the impact of ballast days during the second quarter of 2025. See Appendix 1 for further details.

The Board of Directors
Frontline plc
Limassol, Cyprus
May 22, 2025

Ola Lorentzon – Chairman and Director
John Fredriksen – Director
James O’Shaughnessy – Director
Steen Jakobsen – Director
Cato Stonex – Director
Ørjan Svanevik – Director
Dr. Maria Papakokkinou – Director

Questions should be directed to:

Lars H. Barstad: Chief Executive Officer, Frontline Management AS
+47 23 11 40 00

Inger M. Klemp: Chief Financial Officer, Frontline Management AS
+47 23 11 40 00

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements, which include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

Frontline plc and its subsidiaries, or the Company, desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. This report and any other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. When used in this document, the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect” and similar expressions, terms or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions, including without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere herein, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include:

the strength of world economies;
fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, including inflationary pressures and central bank policies intended to combat overall inflation and high interest rates and foreign exchange rates;
the impact that any discontinuance, modification or other reform or the establishment of alternative reference rates have on the Company’s floating interest rate debt instruments;
general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values;
changes in the supply and demand for vessels comparable to ours and the number of newbuildings under construction;
the highly cyclical nature of the industry that we operate in;
the loss of a large customer or significant business relationship;
changes in worldwide oil production and consumption and storage;
changes in the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking, crew costs and insurance costs;
planned, pending or recent acquisitions, business strategy and expected capital spending or operating expenses, including dry docking, surveys and upgrades;
risks associated with any future vessel construction;
our expectations regarding the availability of vessel acquisitions and our ability to complete vessel acquisition transactions as planned;
our ability to successfully compete for and enter into new time charters or other employment arrangements for our existing vessels after our current time charters expire and our ability to earn income in the spot market;
availability of financing and refinancing, our ability to obtain financing and comply with the restrictions and other covenants in our financing arrangements;
availability of skilled crew members and other employees and the related labor costs;
work stoppages or other labor disruptions by our employees or the employees of other companies in related industries;
compliance with governmental, tax, environmental and safety regulation, any non-compliance with U.S. or European Union regulations;
the impact of increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, lenders and other market participants with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance policies;
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or other applicable regulations relating to bribery;
general economic conditions and conditions in the oil industry;
effects of new products and new technology in our industry, including the potential for technological innovation to reduce the value of our vessels and charter income derived therefrom;
new environmental regulations and restrictions, whether at a global level stipulated by the International Maritime Organization, and/or imposed by regional or national authorities such as the European Union or individual countries;
vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hire;
the impact of an interruption in or failure of our information technology and communications systems, including the impact of cyber-attacks upon our ability to operate;
risks associated with potential cybersecurity or other privacy threats and data security breaches;
potential conflicts of interest involving members of our Board of Directors and senior management;
the failure of counter parties to fully perform their contracts with us;
changes in credit risk with respect to our counterparties on contracts;
our dependence on key personnel and our ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees;
adequacy of insurance coverage;
our ability to obtain indemnities from customers;
changes in laws, treaties or regulations;
the volatility of the price of our ordinary shares;
our incorporation under the laws of Cyprus and the different rights to relief that may be available compared to other countries, including the United States;
changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities;
government requisition of our vessels during a period of war or emergency;
potential liability from pending or future litigation and potential costs due to environmental damage and vessel collisions;
the arrest of our vessels by maritime claimants;
general domestic and international political conditions or events, including “trade wars”;
any further changes in U.S. trade policy that could trigger retaliatory actions by the affected countries;
potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, environmental factors, political events, public health threats, international hostilities including the war between Russia and Ukraine and possible cessation of such war, the conflict between Israel and Hamas and related conflicts in the Middle East, the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, acts by terrorists or acts of piracy on ocean-going vessels;
the impact of restriction on trade, including the imposition of tariffs, port fees and other import restrictions by the United States on its trading partners and the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by China and the EU on the United States, and potential further protectionist measures and/or further retaliatory actions by others, including the imposition of tariffs or penalties on vessels calling in key export and import ports such as the United States, EU and/or China;
the length and severity of epidemics and pandemics and their impact on the demand for seaborne transportation of crude oil and refined products;
the impact of port or canal congestion;
business disruptions due to adverse weather, natural disasters or other disasters outside our control; and
other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We caution readers of this report not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. These forward-looking statements are no guarantee of our future performance, and actual results and future developments may vary materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

¹ This press release describes Time Charter Equivalent earnings and related per day amounts and spot TCE currently contracted, which are not measures prepared in accordance with IFRS (“non-GAAP”). See Appendix 1 for a full description of the measures and reconciliation to the nearest IFRS measure.

Attachment

1st Quarter 2025 Results

The MIL Network –

May 27, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: International Academic Hub for Pediatric Oncology to be Established in Uzbekistan

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

Tashkent, May 22 (Xinhua) — An International Academic Hub for Pediatric Oncology will be opened in Uzbekistan, local media reported on Thursday, citing a decree by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The hub will reportedly operate at the Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Children’s Oncology, Hematology and Immunology of Uzbekistan.

“In accordance with the Resolution, a digital patient route will be introduced, including the processes of registration, diagnosis, treatment, dispensary observation and routing of children with oncological and oncohematological diseases,” the statement says.

It is noted that the academic hub is a scientific and educational institution, and it is entrusted with such tasks as the implementation of international educational programs, analysis and forecasting of epidemiological trends in childhood cancer incidence for strategic planning and development of preventive measures. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Global space economy market to surpass $511 billion in 2029, forecasts GlobalData

Source: GlobalData

Global space economy market to surpass $511 billion in 2029, forecasts GlobalData

Posted in Strategic Intelligence

The global space economy market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.0% from $421.0 billion in 2024 to $511.2 billion in 2029, driven by an increase in the deployment of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, productivity improvements in satellite equipment manufacturing, the competitive launch services landscape, and demand for services around data communications, navigation, and Earth observation. according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest Strategic Intelligence report, “The Space Economy” reveals that space applications, which include satellite communications, navigation, and Earth observation, is the largest segment of the space economy and will grow at a CAGR of 2.9% to reach $334.8 billion by 2029.

Falling manufacturing and launch costs, non-Western companies’ entrance into the space economy market, increased space militarization, and new uses for data from space are the other growth drivers of the space economy.

William Rojas, Research Director, Strategic Intelligence at GlobalData, comments: “Different scenarios indicate different growth rates for the space economy market over the coming decade. Issues that may restrict growth include a continuation of the currently challenging global economic environment, Russia’s permanent exit from the space economy, and whether Chinese companies can fulfill the country’s space ambitions. The uncertain financial viability of young satellite and rocket companies and the market’s low return on investment in the short term, combined with the current global economic environment, could lead to a pause in investor confidence in the space economy beyond 2025.”

Future market growth will also depend on the development of reusable rockets and more affordable and frequent ride-sharing services that will increase payload slots on launch missions. The space tourism and colonization subsectors are unlikely to significantly contribute to the overall space economy market until after 2030.

Rojas adds: “Space is no longer the sole domain of governments and incumbent aerospace and defense companies. Technological advances in manufacturing, propulsion, and the launch of rockets have made it much easier and less expensive to venture into space. Those businesses that pursued emerging opportunities have gained a first-mover advantage. SpaceX was the first private company to launch a spacecraft into orbit and return it safely to Earth. Currently, it charges clients $69.5 million per launch of the Falcon 9, its partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle.”

The sector has become incredibly competitive, with various start-ups developing concepts for cost-effective rockets and satellites to rival the aerospace giants. The large satellite groups continue to consolidate to compete with Starlink and the future Amazon Kuiper mega-constellations. Eutelsat and OneWeb merged in 2022, Viasat acquired Inmarsat in 2023, and SES acquired Intelsat in 2024. This market consolidation will continue.

Rojas continues: ”Satellite broadband communications has become the new strategic imperative impacting national sovereignty, national security, and national digital infrastructure. Countries lagging in terrestrial broadband residential and enterprise infrastructure can use satellite broadband to help fill the gap with advanced countries and attract more foreign direct investment and the digitalization of industry sectors.”

Technological advancements, such as spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for detailed surface mapping and satellite-to-ground optical (laser) technology for ultra-high-speed data transmission, 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), and satellite device-to-device technology, will enhance remote sensing and communications capabilities. Quantum key distribution (QKD) for satellite communications could boost data transmission security for banks, data center companies, government data centers, and corporate data centers. These technologies will all benefit the space economy in 2025.

Rojas concludes: “The space economy has been intertwined with the oil and gas and mining sector for several decades already, and now with the falling communications costs of satellite broadband combined with new technologies, many sectors from agriculture to maritime to emergency and disaster response to media will benefit from the pervasiveness of satellite coverage as well as the new capacity that is coming online, reflecting an increase of over 65X between 2015 and 2025.”

MIL OSI Economics –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Forbes University Rankings: HSE University Has the Best Reputation Among Employers

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

On May 22, Forbes Education presented an updated rating 100 best universities in Russia for 2025. The Higher School of Economics retained 2nd place, establishing itself as the university with the highest level of reputation among employers. The top 20 included 12 Moscow universities, three universities from St. Petersburg, two from Tatarstan, and one educational institution each from the Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, and Tomsk regions.

Forbes Education continues to monitor dynamic changes in the field of higher education, identifying universities that demonstrate high standards of quality and demand. In the new, seventh, ranking of the best universities in Russia, the assessment was carried out according to 17 different criteria, grouped into key metrics: quality of networking, reputation among employers, international image, academic environment. The Forbes factor was also taken into account, thanks to which universities received additional points if among their graduates there were participants in the Russian Forbes list or winners of the rating “30 under 30” 2024.

This year, HSE retained its 2nd place in the list, ahead of Moscow State University by 0.7 points and confirming its status as the university with the highest reputation among employers. The leaders in individual metrics were also MIPT (the best university in terms of admission quality), Moscow State University (the leader in the category “International Reputation”), and Innopolis University (the winner in terms of quality of the academic environment).

In total, 564 higher education institutions were included in the long list. The analysis was conducted based on data from the Monitoring of the Activities of Educational Organizations of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the results of a survey the best employers in the country and information from open sources.

To analyze the reputation of universities among employers, a survey was conducted in large companies included in the list of the best employers in Russia. During the survey, universities were identified whose graduates are considered the most qualified and are ready to be hired first. The companies also indicated universities that, in their opinion, provide the best quality of training for specialists in such areas as economics, information technology, technical sciences, marketing and communications, natural sciences, humanities and creative industries. The survey covered 43 industries and different regions of Russia.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: China to deepen cooperation with CEE countries – State Councilor

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

NINGBO, May 22 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor Shen Yiqin said Thursday that China will continue to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation with Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, calling it a model of trans-regional multilateral cooperation.

Speaking at the 4th China-Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia International Consumer Goods Expo and Fair in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Shen Yiqin promised that China will continue to increase imports from Central and Eastern Europe countries, expand bilateral trade, and strive to achieve new high-quality cooperation results in the joint construction of the Belt and Road and other fields.

According to the State Councilor, the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe countries has become a model of trans-regional multilateral cooperation, and bilateral trade, investment and connectivity are deepening day by day.

Shen Yiqin stressed that China, committed to building an open world economy, is willing to work with all countries in the world, including Central and Eastern Europe, to jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system, the stability of global supply chains and the international environment for open cooperation.

The 4th China-CEEC EXPO will run until May 25. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Russian Air Defense Forces Repelled Ukrainian UAV Attacks on Moscow — Mayor

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

Moscow, May 22 (Xinhua) — The Russian Defense Ministry’s air defense forces repelled several attacks by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying toward Moscow on Thursday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported on his Telegram channel.

“The Ministry of Defense’s air defense continues to repel attacks by enemy drones,” he wrote.

According to the Moscow mayor, 10 attacks were carried out during the night and first half of the day on May 22 using 34 UAVs. All of them were destroyed. “Operational services are working at the sites of the debris fall,” added S. Sobyanin.

To ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights, temporary restrictions were introduced on the operation of the capital’s air hub airports.

The day before, on May 21, S. Sobyanin reported the destruction of 27 Ukrainian drones flying toward the capital.

In total, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air defense forces shot down 485 UAVs over Russian regions from 20:00 on May 20 to 08:00 on May 22. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Xi Jinping Calls on China, France to Be Reliable Forces to Maintain International Order /detailed version-1/

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on China and France to be reliable forces for maintaining the international order, open forces for promoting global growth and progressive forces for advancing multilateral cooperation in a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Xi Jinping called on the two countries to jointly safeguard the authority and status of the UN, uphold the rules of international trade and the world economic order, and adhere to genuine multilateralism.

The Chinese leader recalled that during his visit to France last May, the two sides agreed to carry forward the spirit of establishing Chinese-French diplomatic relations, which is characterized by independence and self-sufficiency, mutual understanding, strategic vision, mutual benefit and common gain, and to infuse this spirit with new and modern content. Over the past period, Chinese-French cooperation has made significant progress, the Chinese leader noted.

The two sides should strengthen strategic communication and seek consensus, seize opportunities to deepen cooperation in traditional areas such as investment, aviation, space and nuclear energy, while expanding cooperation in emerging sectors such as the digital economy, green development, biomedicine and the “silver economy” (economic activities related to the needs and interests of the elderly), Xi said.

The Chinese leader also stressed the need to expand cultural and humanitarian exchanges and strengthen friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

Xi Jinping stressed that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. He said that as permanent members of the UN Security Council and independent powers, China and France are the founders and builders of the post-war international order, and the two countries should strengthen unity and cooperation.

The more complex the international situation becomes, he added, the more China and France need to make the right strategic choices.

The Chinese President said that China always regards Europe as an independent pole in a multipolar world and supports the European Union in strengthening its strategic independence and enhancing its important role in international affairs.

China is ready to work with the EU to address global challenges and achieve results that will benefit both sides and the world, Xi Jinping said. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Defence Secretary and General Hockenhull opening remarks

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Speech

Defence Secretary and General Hockenhull opening remarks

Defence Secretary John Healey and General Sir Jim Hockenhull remarks on the Chagos Islands deal signed by the Prime Minister today.

Defence Secretary John Healey

Thank you, Prime Minister.

As the world becomes more dangerous, the Diego Garcia military base becomes more important.

But I want to underline the urgency and uncertainty over the future control of this UK base.

Within weeks, we faced new legal rulings which would weaken the UK’s full operational sovereignty over this base, and within just a few years, this irreplaceable military and intelligence base would become inoperable.

That’s why we have taken action today.

That is why the Prime Minister has signed this treaty today, securing this base for the next 99 years and beyond.

Our allied nations are right behind us and behind this deal – the US, Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada.

Others want to see this base closed. They want to see this deal collapse – China, Russia, Iran.

The value of this deal is beyond doubt.

Full control of Diego Garcia for the next 99 years and beyond.

Full control and protection of the electromagnetic spectrum that priceless intelligence; communications, sensors; radar; a strengthened buffer zone so we can control the seas and the skies immediately around Diego Garcia and wider islands up to 100 miles – an effective veto over any developments or hostile activities.

And with the base in jeopardy, no action was no option, and anyone who would argue to abandon this deal would abandon this base.  So let me be clear, the British people and our British forces are safer today and into the future because of this deal.

Thank you.

General Sir Jim Hockenhull

Thank you.

I think it’s useful to add a military perspective here.

The way we see this is very simple:

Diego Garcia provides a vital capability to our Armed Forces, to our US allies and for our shared contribution to global security.

The geography offers immense and irreplaceable global reach, enabling us to pivot forces westward toward Africa and the Middle East, or eastward towards Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Added to that are the facilities on the base. It has a deep water port for nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers; a runway capable of operating every type of military aircraft, with the logistical support required for modern operations and the satellite and communications infrastructure that the Prime Minister mentioned, it is an unique asset for Britain’s defence and security.

It gives us the ability to deploy a wide range of capabilities over a huge geography.

Now Diego Garcia provides its worth through the long years of counter terrorism operations and proves its value today by supporting our ability to protect maritime trade, it will be of even greater strategic significance in the future.

It helps keeps the United Kingdom safe and prosperous, and it allows us to work closely with our international partners.  The use of Diego Garcia by US forces is a unique contribution to the military relationship between our two countries, and one that underlines the UK’s commitment to burden sharing.  Both our militaries will continue to benefit from our investment in these facilities for the years to come.  Britain projects military power through Such alliances and through assets like this base, which give us a global reach.  I welcome the long term certainty that this treaty brings it will help the British armed forces in our efforts to support stability abroad and security at home.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Updates to this page

Published 22 May 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Golden Dome: what Trump should learn from Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ missile defence system plan

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Matthew Powell, Teaching Fellow in Strategic and Air Power Studies, University of Portsmouth

Donald Trump has unveiled plans for a new “next-generation” missile defence system which he says will by “capable even of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world, or launched from space”. The US president says “Golden Dome”, which is reportedly partly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome system that protects the country from missile attacks, will be operational by the end of his current four-year term of office.

But critics say that it’s much harder to design a defence system to protect a land mass the size of the United States. This is particularly the case in an era characterised by the threat from hypersonic missiles, such as those used by Russia against Ukraine, as well as attacks from space.

Ever since the first aerial attacks on civilian populations, there have been increasing calls to provide systems that can defend and destroy the potential for an adversary to attack people, governments and infrastructure.

This developed from relatively basic defence systems, such as those employed by the UK from 1917 to protect London and the south-east of England from attack during the first world war, which developed further to provide a relatively large degree of protection during the Battle of Britain in the summer and autumn of 1940.

Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

During the cold war, which followed the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, research accelerated globally into ways of providing greater protection against nuclear attack. The most eye-catching of these ideas was the announcement by Ronald Reagan in 1983 of plans to develop a massive (and hugely expensive) land and space-based missile defence system.

The project, officially called the Strategic Defence Initiative quickly became known colloquially – if slightly mockingly – as “Star Wars”.

The concept behind the missile defence system was that it would provide a way of effectively making nuclear weapons obsolete. Through the application of a defensive system that incorporated both land and space-based missiles, it was believed that any nuclear warhead fired would be destroyed before it was able to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

This would not only prevent intercontinental ballistic missiles from striking their intended target, but their destruction so high above the Earth would mean that they would not pose a threat in terms of nuclear radiation and fallout.

It’s important to note that what was announced by Reagan in March 1983 was not about the development, construction or application of an actual defensive system. It was about funding research into the technologies that would be required for such a system.

Reagan claimed this was a move to create a more peaceful world by making nuclear weapons effectively obsolete. But it was certainly not seen this way in Moscow.

It was also something of a half truth. The move should be seen within the wider context of cold war relations and developments. The Reagan administration was seeking to bring the Soviet Union to the negotiating table to discuss reductions in strategic weapons.

By developing a defensive system that would make strategic nuclear weapons almost obsolete, it was hoped this would force the hand of the Soviets and effectively compel them to agree to talks.

The ‘Star Wars’ era: Ronald Reagan hoped his planned missile defence system would force the USSR to the negotiating table. He was right.
Yuryi Abramochkin/RIA Novosti archive., CC BY

But at the same time, as far as the decision-makers in the Kremlin were concerned, such a system – if developed and deployed – would give the United States a colossal strategic advantage. By the mid-1980s, it was highly unlikely that the Soviets could ever afford the investment in research and development and production capabilities to design their own system. This would mean that the Soviet Union was now highly vulnerable to a nuclear attack, while the US would be protected.

This would place the United States in a similar position to that which it had enjoyed between 1945 and 1949, when it was the only nation that had the ability launch nuclear weapons. The theory of mutually assured destruction would fall almost overnight, meaning that the US had very little to fear from launching a nuclear attack, as any Soviet response would be futile.

Given the potential for nuclear blackmail by the all-powerful US, it might cause the Kremlin to consider launching a pre-emptive strike against the US before such a system could be developed or implemented. Rather than making the world a safer place and diminishing the place of nuclear weapons, the world would become more dangerous.

Pie in the sky?

The Strategic Defence Initiative never really got off the ground. The initial mockery from large parts of the public of the US hid many real challenges to the development of such a defensive system. The research and development aspect alone came with a very large price tag. This was largely out of step with Reagan’s ideas about small government and limited public spending.

In order to fund such a programme, money would have to be diverted from other domestic and social programmes, such as health and education. Despite the cold war context, this may well have risked unrest and protest from large swaths of the US population.

The new technologies that were supposed to be developed as a part of this initiative were untested. It became evident that the only real way to test the efficacy and capability would be to expose the world to a nuclear attack and hope that the theoretical concepts that had been developed actually worked in practice.

The Soviet Union also found ways of countering the potential developments that may emerge from the Strategic Defence Initiative, making the system almost redundant before it had begun.

Proposed defence systems, like the Strategic Defence Initiative or the Golden Dome, can appear to be a panacea to defensive worries caused by heavily armed adversaries. Announcements about their development can cause global headlines and speculation about what this means for relations between nations and the international system.

Take a step back from the US president’s hype, however, and it’s clear that Golden Dome will be hugely expensive and challenging to operate. Moreover it will require significant capabilities that do not yet exist and have yet to be tested operationally.

Matthew Powell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Golden Dome: what Trump should learn from Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ missile defence system plan – https://theconversation.com/golden-dome-what-trump-should-learn-from-reagans-star-wars-missile-defence-system-plan-257372

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Round table “Cooperation in China-Central Asia format” held in Bishkek

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BISHKEK, May 22 /Xinhua/ — A roundtable discussion on “Cooperation in the China-Central Asia Format” was held in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, on Thursday. The event was organized by the Chinese Embassy jointly with the Institute of World Politics of Kyrgyzstan.

According to the Chinese embassy, more than 50 people took part in the event, including the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Liu Jiangping, the State Secretary of Kyrgyzstan Marat Imankulov, representatives of the scientific community and the media.

In her keynote speech, Liu Jiangping spoke in detail about the fruitful results of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries, and also revealed the importance of the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism.

The ambassador stated that in the current complex and unstable international situation, China, together with the Central Asian countries, intends to effectively implement the agreements reached by the heads of the six states, improve and strengthen the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, deepen the joint construction of the Belt and Road and cooperation in all areas, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for China and the Central Asian countries.

M. Imankulov and other participants of the round table in their speeches highly praised the achievements of cooperation between the Central Asian states and China, noting that the “China-Central Asia” cooperation mechanism will give a powerful impetus to comprehensive interaction between China and the countries of the region and will become a model of mutually beneficial multilateral partnership.

Scholars present at the event spoke on cooperation in security, investment, connectivity, education and culture. Liu Jiangping answered all the questions asked of her in detail. –0–

MIL OSI Russia News –

May 27, 2025

Category: Russian Federation

Why legal status matters

How can Australia protect its nationals?

Example 1: trigger of foreign currency loss

Year 1

Year 2

Example 2: sale of assets acquired before making a functional currency choice

Calculate your assessable income

Calculate your FITO

Assessable income calculation

Franking account balance

Exchange rate applicable at the time the costs are incurred

Exchange rate applicable at the time of the CGT event

Amount of capital gain or capital loss calculated in the applicable functional currency

B

C

D

E

F

H

I

J

K

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

Y

Z

Defence Secretary and General Hockenhull opening remarks

Defence Secretary John Healey

General Sir Jim Hockenhull

Updates to this page

Pie in the sky?