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Category: Russian Federation

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Active Citizens” to Choose Name for Moscow Zoo Alpaca

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    In the project “Active Citizen” it has begun vote, the participants of which will choose a name for the new inhabitant of the Moscow Zoo – a snow-white male alpaca.

    Zoologists have suggested six options. Some of them are inspired by the Inca culture, which domesticated these animals about six thousand years ago. One of them is Inti, the name of the mythological god of the Sun. It symbolizes the warmth and fluffy wool of the alpaca, which warms like the sun’s rays.

    Another name, Pacha, translates as “Universe” and emphasizes the uniqueness of each living being. Another option is Cusco, named after the capital of the ancient Inca Empire.

    The name Zephyr conveys the soft and affectionate nature of the alpaca. In addition, he can be called Vatny Puffik in honor of his parents – mom Vatny and dad Puffik. And due to the light color of the fur, the male may be suited to the name Albert, which comes from the Latin word albus, which translates as “white”.

    The alpaca was born in the fall of 2023 in the center for the reproduction of rare animal species near Volokolamsk, becoming the firstborn in its family. At the end of last year he was transported to the children’s zoo, where he became friends with a chocolate-colored female named Zarina. They now share an enclosure and may form a couple in the future.

    The young friendly male also met other inhabitants of the zoo: Border Leicester and Ouessant sheep, Cameroon goats and a Scottish bull named Gavryusha.

    New voting organized by the capital Department of Culture and the project “Active Citizen”With its help, city residents have already chosen names for many animals, including the Malayan bears Masha, Luchik and Zvezdochka, the dolphin Lucky, the panda Katyusha and the tiger Amur.

    Luchik, Zvezdochka and Masha: “active citizens” named Malayan bear cubs from Moscow ZooHello, Lucky: “Active Citizens” Chose a Name for a Baby Dolphin from MoskvariumSobyanin: Muscovites have chosen a name for the panda cub from the capital’s zoo

    Project “Active Citizen” has been operating since 2014. During this time, more than seven million people have joined it, and more than seven thousand votes have been held. Every month, 30–40 decisions made by Muscovites are implemented in the city. The project is being developed by the capital Department of Information Technology and the State Institution “New Management Technologies”.

    The creation, development and operation of the e-government infrastructure, including the provision of mass socially significant services, as well as other services in electronic form, correspond to the objectives of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State” and the Moscow regional project “Digital Public Administration”.

    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.mos.ru/nevs/ite/150586073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: ING to redeem two series of SEC registered Senior Notes

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ING to redeem two series of SEC registered Senior Notes

    ING announced today it will redeem two series of outstanding SEC registered securities: the USD 500 million Callable Floating Rate Senior Notes (CUSIP 456837 BD4 / ISIN US456837BD49) and the USD 1,250 million 3.869% Callable Fixed-to-Floating Rate Senior Notes (CUSIP 456837 BA0 / ISIN US456837BA00) (together the “Callable Senior Notes”) on their call date of 28 March 2025.

    The Callable Senior Notes will be redeemed in full in accordance with their terms, with payment to be made on 28 March 2025. The redemption price will be the principal amount of the Callable Senior Notes. Accrued and unpaid interest due on the redemption date will be paid in the usual manner to holders of record as of 27 March 2025. The paying agent for the Callable Senior Notes Securities is The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch 160 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4LA United Kingdom.

    Any future decisions by ING as to whether it will exercise (or cause to be exercised) calls in respect of debt securities will be made on an economic basis, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders. Other factors that ING will consider include prevailing market conditions, regulatory approval and capital requirements.

    Note for editors

    For more on ING, please visit www.ing.com. Frequent news updates can be found in the Newsroom or via X @ING_news feed. Photos of ING operations, buildings and its executives are available for download at Flickr.

    ING PROFILE

    ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is: empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank’s more than 60,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 100 countries.

    ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).

    ING aims to put sustainability at the heart of what we do. Our policies and actions are assessed by independent research and ratings providers, which give updates on them annually. ING’s ESG rating by MSCI was reconfirmed by MSCI as ‘AA’ in August 2024 for the fifth year. As of December 2023, in Sustainalytics’ view, ING’s management of ESG material risk is ‘Strong’. Our current ESG Risk Rating, is 17.2 (Low Risk).

    ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers including Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell.

    IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION

    Elements of this press release contain or may contain information about ING Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V. within the meaning of Article 7(1) to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/2014 (‘Market Abuse Regulation’).

    ING Group’s annual accounts are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (‘IFRS- EU’). In preparing the financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2023 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. The Financial statements for 2024 are in progress and may be subject to adjustments from subsequent events. All figures in this document are unaudited. Small differences are possible in the tables due to rounding.

    Certain of the statements contained herein are not historical facts, including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation: (1) changes in general economic conditions and customer behaviour, in particular economic conditions in ING’s core markets, including changes affecting currency exchange rates and the regional and global economic impact of the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and related international response measures (2) changes affecting interest rate levels (3) any default of a major market participant and related market disruption (4) changes in performance of financial markets, including in Europe and developing markets

    (5) fiscal uncertainty in Europe and the United States (6) discontinuation of or changes in ‘benchmark’ indices (7) inflation and deflation in our principal markets (8) changes in conditions in the credit and capital markets generally, including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness (9) failures of banks falling under the scope of state compensation schemes (10) non- compliance with or changes in laws and regulations, including those concerning financial services, financial economic crimes and tax laws, and the interpretation and application thereof (11) geopolitical risks, political instabilities and policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, including in connection with the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and the related international response measures (12) legal and regulatory risks in certain countries with less developed legal and regulatory frameworks (13) prudential supervision and regulations, including in relation to stress tests and regulatory restrictions on dividends and distributions (also among members of the group) (14) ING’s ability to meet minimum capital and other prudential regulatory requirements (15) changes in regulation of US commodities and derivatives businesses of ING and its customers (16) application of bank recovery and resolution regimes, including write down and conversion powers in relation to our securities (17) outcome of current and future litigation, enforcement proceedings, investigations or other regulatory actions, including claims by customers or stakeholders who feel misled or treated unfairly, and other conduct issues (18) changes in tax laws and regulations and risks of non-compliance or investigation in connection with tax laws, including FATCA (19) operational and IT risks, such as system disruptions or failures, breaches of security, cyber-attacks, human error, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including in respect of third parties with which we do business and including any risks as a result of incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise flawed outputs from the algorithms and data sets utilized in artificial intelligence (20) risks and challenges related to cybercrime including the effects of cyberattacks and changes in legislation and regulation related to cybersecurity and data privacy, including such risks and challenges as a consequence of the use of emerging technologies, such as advanced forms of artificial intelligence and quantum computing (21) changes in general competitive factors, including ability to increase or maintain market share (22) inability to protect our intellectual property and infringement claims by third parties (23) inability of counterparties to meet financial obligations or ability to enforce rights against such counterparties (24) changes in credit ratings (25) business, operational, regulatory, reputation, transition and other risks and challenges in connection with climate change and ESG-related matters, including data gathering and reporting (26) inability to attract and retain key personnel (27) future liabilities under defined benefit retirement plans (28) failure to manage business risks, including in connection with use of models, use of derivatives, or maintaining appropriate policies and guidelines (29) changes in capital and credit markets, including interbank funding, as well as customer deposits, which provide the liquidity and capital required to fund our operations, and (30) the other risks and uncertainties detailed in the most recent annual report of ING Groep N.V. (including the Risk Factors contained therein) and ING’s more recent disclosures, including press releases, which are available on www.ING.com.

    This document may contain ESG-related material that has been prepared by ING on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other third-party sources believed to be reliable. ING has not sought to independently verify information obtained from public and third-party sources and makes no representations or warranties as to accuracy, completeness, reasonableness or reliability of such information.

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A film about the development of digital technologies in the capital can now be watched online

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The popular science mini-series “Moscow in Digital” can now be watched online. Each episode immerses the viewer in the history of the capital’s technological projects and allows you to learn more about how the city has become one of the most developed megacities in the world in 30 years.Department of Information Technology of the City of Moscow told where and how you can watch the film, which premiered at the end of last year.

    “The educational mini-series “Moscow in Digital” is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Runet and tells how technologies have developed over three decades, services have been created, projects have appeared that today make the lives of Muscovites even more comfortable, vibrant and safe. Each episode covers a certain area of the city’s life and immerses you in the history of not only digitalization, but also Moscow itself. The frame intertwines archival footage and photographs that remind adults and tell the new generation about the times when issues were resolved in a live queue, phone numbers were remembered by heart, people went to the library or bookstore to find information, and visited five different departments to pay bills. From February 26, you can watch the series at any convenient time

    on Rutube and in social networks “VKontakte”, as well as on streaming platforms,” the press service of the capital’s Department of Information Technology reported.

    The film reflects each stage of the development of urban technologies, shows the path traveled and painstaking work on creating the digital infrastructure of the metropolis. When creating the mini-series, gigabytes of information were collected and hundreds of documents were studied, experts and specialists who were engaged in the digitalization of Moscow for three decades were involved. The comfortable timing of the film – each episode lasts from 20 to 25 minutes – allows you to immerse yourself in the history of the development of IT projects, while the easy and entertaining form of presentation of information does not tire the viewer with complex terminology and excessive amounts of information.

    Moscow Government experts not only talk about how digitalization became a familiar part of the city’s main areas of life – healthcare, transport, education, construction and others, but also share their personal experience as residents and users of electronic products. In essence, the film is an educational and entertaining encyclopedia about the capital’s technological projects and services. There you can learn, for example, how artificial intelligence is helping doctors across the country today, or walk around a virtual copy of VDNKh, and also find answers to many other questions.

    “Of course, the best way to feel how convenient it is to use modern services in the capital is to simply live in Moscow. Many are so accustomed to the good that they do not even notice how technology has changed the lives of city residents. And our mini-series will help to fully understand the possibilities of digital Moscow, truly one of the most advanced megacities in the world,” said Russian TV and radio host Alexander Pushnoy, who helps viewers of the film immerse themselves in the atmosphere of innovation.

    He remembers the times when payphones were everywhere, Moscow was studied using a city atlas and a route with identification signs was drawn on a piece of paper. And today, on the mos.ru portal, you can solve almost any issue with a couple of clicks. Artificial intelligence helps to deal with many everyday tasks, and the management of the megalopolis is built using big data analysis.

    Each episode gives a full picture of how digitalization was introduced into various spheres of life in the metropolis. For example, from the first one, you can learn how high technologies and projects make the city truly smart. The viewer will have to go all the way from the start of the first round-the-clock server in the Moscow City Hall building to the creation of a digital twin of the city, the Mos.Tech technological platform and the capital’s metaverse. The second episode tells about the development of projects in the social sphere: the Muscovite card, the unified medical information and analytical system and the Moscow Electronic School, as well as projects for young people. In the third one, you can learn how the mos.ru portal turned from a news feed with a guest book into a resource used by more than 15.9 million people, and about the evolution of Moscow transport, one of the most comfortable in the world. The final part is dedicated to digitalization in the sphere of culture and tourism. It also talks about the opportunities for every Muscovite to take part in the life of the city and influence what the capital will be like in the future.

    The film was shot by the Gorky Film Studio production center, which is part of the Moscow film cluster, and the director was Konstantin Reich.

    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.mos.ru/nevs/ite/150569073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Operators have started implementing 36 KRT projects in 2024

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    In 2024, city-appointed operators began implementing 36 integrated territorial development projects (ITD). This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction Vladimir Efimov.

    “For the comprehensive development of depressed areas, the city not only attracts investors, but also appoints KRT operators. According to 36 redevelopment projects, which operators have been implementing since last year, the construction of over seven million square meters of various real estate objects is planned. New residential buildings and public and business facilities will appear on sites with a total area of 358.9 hectares, a number of projects provide for the creation of modern production facilities. As a result, the city will receive about 106.8 thousand jobs,” said Vladimir Efimov.

    The new facilities will appear in 34 districts of the Eastern, Western, Northern, North-Eastern, North-Western, Southern, South-Eastern, South-Western, Zelenogradsky, Troitsky and Novomoskovsky administrative districts of the capital. The sites will be located near major transport facilities, including metro stations, Moscow Central Diameters and the Moscow Central Circle.

    “The KRT operators appointed by the capital will build about 3.2 million square meters of housing, including for the purposes of the renovation program. The infrastructure of residential areas will be supplemented by kindergartens for 3.1 thousand children, schools for 9.3 thousand students, sports and medical institutions. The total area of public, business and industrial facilities will be more than 3.8 million square meters. The renovated areas will appear on the site of inefficiently used areas, as well as in former industrial zones,” said the Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department of City Property

    Maxim Gaman.

    New buildings for the renovation program are erected not only on specially selected and cleared sites, but also on sites that are included in the comprehensive territorial development program.

    According to the Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department of Urban Development Policy Vladislav Ovchinsky, to implement the renovation program, houses will be built, the area of apartments in which will be approximately 650 thousand square meters. This will provide modern housing for about 23 thousand Muscovites. The adjacent territory will be improved: comprehensive landscaping will be carried out, areas for active recreation and sports will be equipped. For the safety and comfort of residents, video surveillance cameras will be installed and outdoor lighting will be mounted.

    According to the program of integrated development of territories, multifunctional city blocks are created, where roads, comfortable housing and all necessary infrastructure are designed on the site of former industrial zones and inefficiently used areas. Currently, 302 KRT projects with a total area of about 4.2 thousand hectares are at various stages of development and implementation in Moscow. The work is underway on behalf of Sergei Sobyanin.

    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.mos.ru/nevs/ite/150575073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: More than 90 recreation areas appeared near new buildings under the renovation program in 2024

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    91 recreation areas have appeared near the buildings built under the renovation program in 2024. They are located in 11 districts of the city. This was reported by the Minister of the Moscow Government, the head of the capital’s Department of Urban Development Policy Vladislav Ovchinsky.

    “Last year, under the renovation program, the city built 1.3 million square meters of housing in 11 districts of the capital. Near the new buildings, 91 recreation areas for residents appeared. Thus, in the Eastern Administrative District there are 27 of them. In the north, northeast and southeast – a total of over 40. For the convenience of residents, the recreation areas in the courtyards are equipped with benches, and the pavement is made of tiles,” noted Vladislav Ovchinsky.

    Creating a high-quality urban environment is one of the main tasks of the renovation program. The courtyards of new buildings in the capital are being improved. They are being landscaped, children’s and sports grounds are being equipped there, as well as recreation areas for residents. In total, about two thousand hectares of adjacent territory will be improved under the renovation program.

    Earlier, Sergei Sobyanin said on the results of the renovation program implementation in 2024.

    The renovation program was approved in August 2017. It concerns about a million Muscovites and provides for the resettlement of 5,176 houses. Earlier, Sergei Sobyanin instructed increase the pace of implementation of the renovation program twice as much.

    Moscow is one of the leaders among regions in terms of construction volumes. High rates of housing construction correspond to the goals and initiatives of the national project “Infrastructure for life.”

    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.mos.ru/nevs/ite/150587073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: 2.4 thousand courtyards to be improved in Moscow

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Specialists from the city economy complex will carry out improvement work on 2.4 thousand courtyards in the capital. This was announced by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Improvement Petr Biryukov.

    “This year we will put 2.4 thousand courtyard areas in order: we will renew the asphalt covering of pedestrian paths and driveways, and arrange convenient parking. An important final stage of all the capital’s improvement programs is landscaping, so new lawns will appear in the courtyards,” said Pyotr Biryukov.

    The projects were developed taking into account the suggestions and wishes of city residents.

    As part of the improvement of courtyard areas, small architectural forms are changed or installed, and residents can also participate in the selection of their design. If space allows, swings and gazebos are installed. When repairing children’s and sports grounds, new surfaces are laid and modern equipment is installed. Particular attention is paid to the modernization of the lighting system – lanterns and street lamps with energy-efficient lamps appear in the courtyards.

    At the request of residents and if the necessary conditions are available, a place for walking pets can be allocated.

    Previously, all the capital’s courtyards, and there are more than 24 thousand of them, were put in order in accordance with the developed standard. It implies equipping the adjacent territories with infrastructure for recreation and sports, as well as high-quality lighting and landscaping of the territories.

    The projects implemented in the capital to create a comfortable urban environment correspond to the goals and objectives of the national project “Infrastructure for Life”.

    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.mos.ru/nevs/ite/150594073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: From embroidery to pottery: “Winter in Moscow” invites you to master classes

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    This year the festival “Moscow Maslenitsa” As part of the Winter in Moscow project, in addition to traditional festivities and treats, it offers residents and guests of the capital a rich program of craft master classes. Each of them introduces ancient customs and techniques of folk crafts from all over Russia. During classes with masters, everyone will be able to master the basics of pottery, traditional embroidery techniques, wood burning, weaving and painting in different styles.

    Master classes will be held at central and district sites of the city. Admission is free, without registration.

    Joy Bird and Cardboard Balalaika on Manezhnaya Square

    The “Workshop of Russian Crafts” is open on Manezhnaya Square. On February 27 at 13:00, a master class “Bird of Joy” will be held here. Participants will learn how to create a bullfinch or a chaffinch from threads.

    On February 28 at 17:00 in the “Maslenitsa Workshop” guests will be offered to assemble a decorative accordion from paper and cardboard with their own hands. On March 1 at 13:00 on this site you can make a solar headband, on March 2 at 15:00 – create felt masks for Maslenitsa carols, and at 16:00 on the same day – assemble a balalaika from cardboard and paper.

    Sheksninskaya and Gorodets painting on Tverskoy Boulevard

    On Tverskoy Boulevard, in the neo-industry art chalet, guests learn the secrets of Dymkovo, Sheksna, Filimonovo, Permogorsk, Vladimir, Semikarakorsk, Khokhloma painting, get acquainted with the Gzhel technique and Yaroslavl majolica, and also create household items and decor in the traditional Russian style.

    On February 28 at 17:00 and March 1 at 16:00, a master class on decorating a red bag with an ornament in the style of Sheksna zolotchenka, a unique painting technique from the Vologda region, will be held here. During the class, participants will learn about the history and features of the crafts of the Russian North.

    On March 1 at 2:00 pm, anyone who wants to can paint a wooden box for a fashionable Khokhloma scarf – red, blue and black, and on March 2 at 5:00 pm, the same box will be decorated with the famous white and blue patterns from Gzhel.

    In addition, on March 2 at 15:00, visitors to the site will learn how to apply a Maslenitsa pattern to a pink stove pot in the style of Gorodets painting from the Nizhny Novgorod region. At 16:00, visitors will attend a master class on decorating a mug with Filimonov painting from the Tula region.

    Ural ceramics and honey barrel decor in ZAO

    On Matveevskaya Street, guests will be offered to sit at a potter’s wheel and mold traditional household items. The crafts can be used to decorate the house or as gifts to relatives and friends.

    On February 27 at 16:00 and 18:00, everyone will be able to create a pancake maker in the traditions of the Sverdlovsk region. In the process of working with clay, participants will master a unique molding, get acquainted with the restrained geometric ornament of Ural ceramics, and also learn the history of Sysert porcelain and Tavolozh products made of red clay, which appeared in the 17th century.

    On March 1 at 13:00 and 16:00 you can make a milk jug with a plant ornament in the style of Kuban ceramics on a potter’s wheel and get acquainted with the world of crafts of the Krasnodar region.

    At the district site in the Olympic Village on Michurinsky Prospekt, masters will teach various techniques for decorating household items. On February 28 at 15:00 and 17:00, master class participants will weave a pancake stand using a technique that came from the Kirov Region. On March 2 at 14:00 and 17:00, guests will use wood burning to decorate a honey barrel the way they do it in the Moscow Region.

    Milk mugs and candy bowl in SZAO

    At the intersection of Sokolovo-Meshcherskaya and Yurovskaya streets, there will also be a potter’s wheel. On February 28 at 15:00 and 17:00, participants in the master class will create a clay spoon in the spirit of the Skopin potters: they will master hand molding, relief patterns, and hear interesting stories about the rich craft traditions of the Ryazan region.

    Here on March 1 at 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00 guests will make milk mugs in the traditions of the Tver region and learn how local craftsmen managed to create an original style of ceramic products.

    On Mitinskaya Street on February 28 at 15:00 and 17:00 visitors will decorate a candy bowl in the style of Gorodets painting (Nizhny Novgorod Region). It is famous for its flower garlands, horses and birds, as well as contrasting contours.

    On March 1 at 13:00 and 16:00 you can paint a classic matryoshka doll from Sergiev Posad, and on March 2 at 14:00 and 17:00 you can decorate a sugar bowl with the famous Khokhloma patterns.

    Embroidery on napkins and box decoration in Zelenograd Administrative Okrug

    In the Kryukovo district on February 28 at 16:00 and 18:00 guests will decorate a box with Vyatka lace from the Kirov region. It is characterized by patterns of pointed petals and openwork lattices in the style of Dymkovo painting.

    Here on March 1 at 14:00 and 17:00 a master class on Tarusa embroidery will begin. All those who wish will create with their own hands a decorative napkin in the image of the products of famous craftswomen of the Kaluga region: with openwork white stitching, traditional plant patterns, recognizable geometric ornaments and unique seams.

    Basket for Maslenitsa in SAO

    On March 1 at 13:00 and 16:00 at the site in the Brigantina Park, everyone will master wickerwork and make Maslenitsa baskets based on the works of Penza masters. Products made from natural wicker will be decorated with characteristic geometric patterns and decor in the spirit of the spring holiday.

    Pancake plate and painted trays on Profsoyuznaya Street

    On March 1 at 14:00 and 17:00 at the Moscow Maslenitsa festival site on Profsoyuznaya Street, you can paint a plate in the style of Puchuzh painting (Arkhangelsk Region). It is characterized by smooth lines, solar symbols and patterns with peahens.

    Here on March 2 at 13:00 and 16:00 visitors will master the creative craft of Ivanovo masters and paint trays using the lacquer miniature technique.

    Painting of musical instruments in the Moskino cinema park

    In the art chalet of Maslenitsa gifts in the Moskino cinema park, you can also create decor from Russian artisans. On March 1 at 17:00, musical spoons in the style of crafts from the Perm region will be decorated with Obvin painting.

    On March 2 at 13:00, all those who wish will be able to paint a shepherd’s drum with two-color ornaments, typical for the crafts of the Kostroma region. At 15:00, there will be a lesson on the elegant decoration of a Maslenitsa rattle with Pizhemskaya painting, which came to us from the ancient northern peoples of the Arkhangelsk region.

    Details can be found on a special website.

    Pancakes and festivities: how to celebrate Maslenitsa at the venues of the Winter in Moscow projectListen to songs and enjoy pancakes: how to celebrate Maslenitsa at metro stations and river terminals

    The Moscow Maslenitsa festival was first held in the capital in 2017 and has since become traditional. In 2025, Maslenitsa will be celebrated from February 21 to March 2.

    Project “Winter in Moscow”— the main event of the season, which unites various events of the capital. Citizens and tourists are invited to remember traditions and history, warm up with tea and hot buns, go skating, watch ice shows, give gifts to people who find themselves in a difficult life situation, show care for those who need it.

    Muscovites and guests of the capital are offered a huge selection of events in the open air and in cultural and sports institutions. The atmosphere of winter traditions has engulfed the entire city – more than 1.9 thousand sites are open. The project organically included the largest festivals of the capital “Moscow Estates”, “Moscow Tea Party”, “City of Light” and many others. All information about the project and the events of the winter season can be found in a special section of mos.ru.

    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.mos.ru/nevs/ite/150580073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Nine new ground transport stops will appear in the capital and Moscow region

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    From March 1, nine stops will be added to 27 ground transportation routes. Another two will be moved to a more convenient location. The changes will take place in nine districts of the capital and the Khimki urban district in the Moscow region.

    “We are constantly developing the network of ground transportation routes on the instructions of Sergei Sobyanin and introducing new stops where necessary. We are placing stopping points near residential buildings, social facilities, rail frame stations and places of attraction. Today, there are already more than 12.5 thousand stops in Moscow, which serve about 880 bus, electric bus and tram routes,” said the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport and Industry

    Maxim Liksutov.

    Where the new stops will appear:

    — “Yurovskaya Street” (for routes No. 324, 358 and 359 on Yurovskaya Street when traveling from Sokolovo-Meshcherskaya Street);

    — “Udachnoe” (for route No. 865 on Leningradskoe Shosse in the area of the Nikolai Sednin House-Museum);

    — “Bibirevo Metro” (for routes No. 282, 353, 618 and 503 at the Bibirevo metro station on Prishvina Street when traveling from Pleshcheeva Street);

    — “Bagrationovsky proezd” (for routes No. 116, 366, 470 and C369 in Bagrationovsky proezd towards Barclay Street);

    — “Valdaisky proezd” (for route No. 400 on Belomorskaya street when heading towards Smolnaya street);

    — “Miklukho-Maklaya Street” (for routes No. 145, 196, 226, 250, 261, 404, 699, 752, 816 and C13 on Miklukho-Maklaya Street when traveling from Leninsky Prospekt);

    — “Vostryakovskoye Cemetery” (for routes No. 32 and 862 on Ozernaya Street when heading towards the Moscow Ring Road);

    — “Khlebozavod” (for routes No. 446 and 504 on Admirala Kornilova Street when heading towards Institutskiy Proezd);

    — “Cinemapark” (for route No. 362 near a large shopping center in Khimki near Moscow).

    Which stops will be moved:

    — “Meshchersky Les” (for routes Sk3 and H11, it will be moved forward 90 meters and combined with the stop of the same name on Borovskoye Highway when heading to the Moscow Ring Road);

    — “Filatovskoye Shosse” (for routes No. 128, 169 and 420, it will be moved 360 meters forward and combined with the “Filimonkovskoye Shosse” stop on Filatovskoye Shosse when going to the “Filatov Lug” metro station).

    Most of the bus stops in the capital are equipped with modern pavilions. In 2024, over 2.7 thousand of them were installed on the streets of Moscow. The new type of pavilions are made of more durable and wear-resistant materials, for example, the frame is made of aluminum and stainless steel, and the benches are made of non-flammable materials. Triplex glass does not break into pieces if damaged.

    All pavilions are designed in the same style as Moscow transport. They contain light boxes with useful information about routes and stops. The roof area is increased, which allows you to comfortably wait for transport even in bad weather, lighting and video surveillance are also provided.

    In total, there are already 10 thousand modern bus stop shelters in the capital, which is more than 90 percent of the total number. In 2025, it is planned to install about 1.5 thousand more, of which more than one thousand will be manufactured at the Sokolnichesky Wagon Repair and Construction Plant (SVARZ). Last year, this enterprise assembled 1.3 thousand shelters, including the 5,000th one manufactured by SVARZ. It is installed on Mira Avenue, at the Kapelsky Pereulok bus stop.

    Today, Moscow has bus stops of various designs. The most common are standard pavilions, which are installed on routes with low or medium passenger traffic. Compact ones, with a smaller floor area, can be seen on narrow landing platforms. In places with the highest passenger flow (near metro stations, popular places and social facilities), multi-section pavilions are installed: up to 10 sections are located under one roof.

    In addition, there are tram stops, and on the narrowest platforms, instead of pavilions, there are flags indicating the routes. There are also canopies – large structures near large transfer hubs that provide comfort to passengers when transferring between ground and rail transport.

    In accordance with the objectives of the national project “Infrastructure for life” In Moscow, much attention is paid to the modernization of social and municipal infrastructure, including increasing the number of convenient public transport routes and updating the rolling stock. In addition, within the framework of the national project, the capital has begun developing the Central Transport Hub. It will become a single circuit with predictable suburban rail transport for more than 30 million residents of 11 regions of Russia.

    Why do they change routes and route numbers and what color they are marked in? You can find out Here.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Video: Kaine Speaks on Senate Floor About Trip to Finland and Importance of NATO

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO IS AVAILABLE HERE.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, spoke on the Senate floor to discuss his trip to Finland, one of the newest NATO members. During Kaine’s trip—which coincided with the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine—he attended Arctic Forge 25, a joint exercise between the Karelia Brigade of the Finnish Army and the Virginia National Guard. Kaine also met with the Finnish President, the Finnish Foreign Minister, and other government officials to reaffirm U.S. support for NATO and Ukraine following President Trump’s remarks blaming Ukraine for starting the war with Russia and calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections.”

    “I rise to describe an amazing journey that I took this weekend—that was a powerful journey connected to my Virginia National Guard and also to issues that are very, very prominent right now in the world,” Kaine said. “We finished voting on the Senate floor a little bit before 5 AM on Friday on the reconciliation bill, and a few hours later, I went to Dulles Airport and flew to Finland.”

    “The reason for the visit over the weekend was to see my Virginia National Guard. The Virginia Guard—as most states—are active participants in the State Partnership Program that was established back in the 1990s where a state’s guard unit connects with the military of an allied country and engages in joint training exercises,” Kaine continued. “Once Finland decided to join NATO, Virginia, which already has a partner in the State Partnership Program, reached out and said to Finland, we would like to work with you as well.”

    “It was a great trip—too short—but really powerful,” Kaine said. “There was a sobering element to it too…To be in Finland—a nation that had to fight two wars against Russia in the late 1930s/early 1940s to maintain its independence—and to be there with those leaders on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was sobering and thought-provoking.”

    Kaine continued, “Finland knows Russia and Russian leadership better than just about anybody… and that memory of fighting two wars against Russia to maintain Finnish independence is still a very present day and palpable memory for the Finns, even though those wars happened in the late 1930s and early 1940s. You can be sure…that our friends, our allies, those we are training together with had some pretty strong thoughts about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the commemoration of the third anniversary.”

    During his floor speech, Kaine discussed the United States’ vote against a United Nations General Assembly resolution that acknowledged Russia invaded Ukraine and called for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory. The United States also abstained on a vote on its own United Nations General Assembly resolution after European countries successfully amended it to add stronger language in support of Ukraine.

    “These Finnish colleagues—who are friends and allies—were pretty candid about their disappointment in the United States for not being willing to state a truth that this war was instigated by Russia,” Kaine said. “They’re puzzled with an American leadership from the President to the Secretary of Defense…that’s unwilling to state that Russia started this war.”

    “It takes sacrifice to protect democracy. Our nation is coming up on the 250th anniversary of our democracy—and not only our democracy, but our leadership role in democracies around the globe. The world needs us to continue to stand strong. Our friends like Finland are hoping and praying that we continue to stand strong. It is my belief that in the heart of the American people there is a desire to stand strong,” Kaine concluded.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin approved priorities for the development of the Moscow education system

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The Presidium of the Moscow Government considered the issue of priorities for the development of the education system in the capital for 2025. Based on its results, Sergei Sobyanin decided to increase the standards for per capita financing of general education schools to improve the quality of education while simultaneously leveling the standards for grades 5-11. 46 billion rubles will be allocated for these purposes. In addition, a decision was made to develop a system of mathematical and natural science training for schoolchildren, increase the number of budget places in colleges for Muscovites – ninth-grade graduates to support the growing interest in secondary vocational education, and to build five advanced schools of the future.

    The capital is among the top five world leaders in the quality of school education. The decisions taken will help maintain and improve these positions, as well as ensure the competitiveness of Moscow school graduates in the context of the transformation of the labor market and the development of digital technologies.

    Increased funding and regulations

    In 2025, funding for school education will be further increased by 13 percent. 46 billion rubles will be allocated from the city budget for these purposes.

    High results and success of students in high school, college and university largely depend on basic fundamental training in elementary school and in grades five to nine, since it is during this period that interest in learning is formed, and the talents and abilities of the child are revealed. Therefore, today it is important to pay the same attention to elementary and basic school as to high school. This will become an important factor in the further growth of the quality of capital education and the success of students.

    In this regard, the Moscow Government decided to introduce a single high standard of financing in grades 5-11 instead of two different ones for the middle and senior levels, and also to increase its size. It will amount to 197 thousand rubles per year per student.

    In basic school (grades 5–9), the standard will increase by almost 20 percent, and for grades 10–11, by 5.4 percent. The per capita standard in primary school (grades 1–4) will increase by almost 15.7 percent, to 171,000 rubles per year.

    Strengthening the natural science and mathematics areas in school

    In addition, additional budget funds will be allocated to improving the quality of mathematical and natural science training for schoolchildren, which determines the achievement of the capital’s technological leadership.

    Starting from the new 2025/2026 academic year, schools will organize city-wide courses in mathematics, science, and technology for grades one through six. Students will solve creative problems, developing logic, spatial, and analytical thinking. New city Olympiads will also appear, including experimental ones, for the early identification of children’s talents and their subsequent individual support. Already in April next year, at the “Ready for Life in a Smart City” Olympiad, students in grades three through four will be able to demonstrate the skills they acquired in additional classes.

    Conducting such classes will also require a more advanced level of teacher training and acquisition of new competencies. From April 1 of this year, teachers will be offered a new system of training and advanced training in special courses.

    The decision to develop additional courses for schoolchildren was made taking into account the growing interest of schoolchildren in mathematical and natural science education. In 2025, a record 60 percent of eleventh-graders will take the advanced level mathematics course on the Unified State Exam — more than 32 thousand graduates.

    Over the past five years, interest in computer science has grown by 46 percent, with 16,000 people taking the exam this year. In addition, physics has become a popular subject for the first time in the last few years, with more than 10,000 graduates choosing it.

    Building schools of the future and upgrading educational infrastructure

    Systematic development of education is impossible without the formation of a high-quality educational environment. The capital has begun implementing an unprecedented project to update school infrastructure and material and technical base.

    Since 2024, a large-scale program “My School” has been implemented, within the framework of which it is planned to modernize up to 100 school buildings per year. Now, after reconstruction, the first four buildings have been opened. By the beginning of the new academic year, about 50 schools in Moscow will be modernized. More than 35 thousand children will study in modern, comfortable and high-tech classes.

    At the same time, the city continues to build new school buildings. In particular, a decision was made to create five advanced schools of the future in Presnensky, Meshchansky, Basmanny and Tagansky districts. New educational buildings will be built according to innovative standards, including the creation of comfortable spaces for scientific experiments, group and individual work, exhibition areas for projects, a media library with an atrium and recreation areas. Particular attention will be paid to visual openness and filling the space with light.

    By 2032, about a thousand school buildings will be built or modernized in the capital.

    Expanding educational choice for young people

    The priority task in the field of education is to provide young people with the widest possible choice of educational trajectory in accordance with the interests and talents of each student.

    Schoolchildren who continue their education in grades 10-11 study at least two subjects in depth to better prepare for entering a university. The capital’s pre-professional education standard, which is based on the “school-college-university-enterprise” model, has also proven its effectiveness.

    Traditionally, after completing the ninth grade, many graduates choose to continue their education in college, which allows them to quickly obtain a sought-after profession and begin an independent life. More than 75 percent of vacancies on the Moscow labor market are aimed at specialists with secondary vocational education. The share of graduates of city colleges who get a job in their specialty is 95 percent.

    The 2024 admission campaign showed a growing interest among ninth-graders in secondary vocational education. The allocated 16 thousand additional target places were filled by 100 percent. Twice as many ninth-graders became college students — about 36 thousand people.

    Among the most popular areas are information technology and programming, graphic design, cooking and confectionery, tourism and hospitality. Demand among applicants for specialties in finance and trade, education and the social sphere is growing.

    Taking this trend into account, in 2025 the Moscow Government decided to increase the number of budget places in city colleges for ninth-grade graduates according to need.

    Starting in 2023, the city will implement a set of measures to modernize and systematically develop secondary vocational education. It is based on two basic principles:

    — relevance and demand (educational programs are developed with the direct participation of employers and professional associations);

    – practical orientation (students are immersed in a professional environment from the first year of study at college, and practical classes make up at least 70 percent of the total training time and are conducted under the guidance of experienced mentors and industrial training masters).

    One of the key elements of change is constant interaction with employers, working according to their requests. Today, city colleges have more than three thousand partners from all sectors of the economy.

    Another important area of modernization of secondary vocational education in Moscow is the large-scale re-equipment of colleges. Over the course of several years, it is planned to re-equip or create anew more than two thousand laboratories and workshops. This will allow practical and laboratory work to be carried out at a modern technological level using equipment that operates at city enterprises.

    Three flagship practical training centers will also be built on the basis of modern production facilities. One of them, located in the Rudnevo industrial park, opened in October 2024.

    The plans include building seven innovative educational campuses with a total area of over 400,000 square meters to accommodate over 60,000 students by 2031. Among them are colleges in the creative industries, information technology, healthcare, hospitality, industry, transport, construction, and others.

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  • MIL-Evening Report: Church hymns and social beers: how Australia is reviving the magic of singing together

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wendy Hargreaves, Senior Learning Advisor, University of Southern Queensland

    State Library of Victoria

    It was 2009. John Farnham walked on stage at the disaster relief concert for the most devastating bushfires in Australian history. He belted out You’re The Voice to 36,000 people at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Then, as he lowered his microphone, 36,000 voices belted it right back.

    Farnham knew the real star that day was not himself, but the thousands of everyday Australians singing in solidarity with their hurting nation.

    Singing together is electrifying, but can Australians tap into this magic without the tragedy?

    We’re all the voice.

    The science behind the magic

    Group singing has a proven ability to produce positive social bonding and help us tune in to others’ feelings.

    That sense of connecting and relating can boost our mental health; particularly crucial given many Australians seriously neglect self-care.

    After taking part in a year-long community singing program, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander adults reported reduced depression, increased resilience and a greater sense of social connection.

    Physiologically, research shows group singing can increase the hormone oxytocin which helps us bond with people and feel good. It can decrease cortisol levels to positively modulate our immune system. Making music together may also release endorphins that help our tolerance of pain.

    Rewinding on Australian singing

    Australia’s identity as a singing nation has never quite matched countries like Wales, “the land of song”. Centuries-old singing traditions are well-suited to huddling indoors in snowy northern hemisphere villages.

    Indeed, the tradition of singing Christmas carols was devised as a cure for the European winter blues. Our warmer Australian climate, in contrast, coaxes us outdoors for other activities in wide open spaces.

    Hymn singing at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building in 1882.
    State Library of Victoria

    Australia’s choral tradition grew initially through church music; printed on tiny 12x7cm pages, books from the early 1800s provide a glimpse at the hymns church choirs and congregations once sang.

    Music researcher Dianne Gome reports these books were also used for official state occasions and in the home. They were so popular, Australians began to create their own versions.

    Singing was part of 19th century Australian life. At home, pianos were treasured for family singalongs and a sign of wealth and culture. Choirs blossomed, such as the The Brisbane Musical Union (now The Queensland Choir) which formed in 1872 with 112 members. Singing was valued, and local journals critiqued technique. Even The Wireless Weekly reported a radio poll “to decide the worst singer” in 1942.

    Work songs – morale boosters as workers labour through repetitive tasks – also showed our early singing culture. One Queensland man recently described life as a 14-year-old in a 1930s tram track foundry:

    Every night I came home exhausted. It was hard work, but we used to sing […] How many people sing at their work today?

    Alongside its presence in churches, work places and social gatherings, singing became a pillar of Australian education.

    A book on education history in Victoria reports singing was introduced in the 1850s for “harmonising and refining the mind” and as a “most favourable influence […] on the moral associations of the goldfields”.

    While some traditions in schools continue today, claims of a crowded curriculum and de-valuing of the arts have pushed school singing from essential to optional.

    There also exists a social pressure on Australian boys to play sport rather than sing in choirs.

    Today’s Aussie group singing style

    A fair dinkum Aussie singing style is well established in sporting circles.

    The 1978 World Cricket Series jingle C’mon Aussie C’mon was so simple and catchy its tune still rings through stadiums today. Likewise, Mike Brady’s Up There Cazaly – inspired by the 1910s footballer whose name was used in World War II battle cries – has been a favourite crowd singalong at AFL Grand Finals for decades.

    Footy club theme songs aside, Brisbane Lions fans will be particularly familiar with a modern opportunity for sports singing: goal songs. After every goal at a Lions’ home game, a snippet from a player-chosen track blares across the stands.

    Not all of these song selections make successful singalongs, but Charlie Cameron’s choice of Take Me Home Country Roads is a clear favourite. Tellingly, the crowd keeps singing after the music stops.

    At the other end of the spectrum of group size and vocal expertise is the small Australian-bred a capella group The Idea of North. Their expert musical arrangements and blended sound perfectly encapsulates collaborative singing with unity, harmony and joy.

    For a quirky Australian choral option, a group of men from Mullumbimby formed the “fake” Russian choir, Dustyesky (a wordplay on the famous Russian writer Dostoevsky). They don’t speak the language, yet their energy and passion for singing made them a hit in Russia and brought about an invitation to sing in Moscow.

    With millions of internet views, another highly successful Australian response to group singing came from Astrid Jorgensen, creator of Pub Choir. With laughter and a drink, members of the public meet at a licensed venue to learn a song in three-part harmony.

    Jorgensen’s tailored musical arrangements of popular songs suit untrained singers, don’t require music reading skills and make singing in harmony with complete strangers easy and fun. Jorgensen found the key to motivating Aussies to sing together is crowds, humour and a social beer.

    Wendy Hargreaves 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. Church hymns and social beers: how Australia is reviving the magic of singing together – https://theconversation.com/church-hymns-and-social-beers-how-australia-is-reviving-the-magic-of-singing-together-250254

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sergey Netesov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Bionanotechnology, Microbiology and Virology of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU: “The new coronavirus does not pose a visible danger to people yet”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    Sergey Netesov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Bionanotechnology, Microbiology and Virology Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU: “The new coronavirus does not yet pose a visible danger to people”

    — Having studied the primary sources — articles published in February 2025 in the journals Cell and Nature — I can say that the discovery of the HKU5-CoV-2 virus, which is a type of the HKU5 virus, is an interesting fact, but so far this virus does not pose a visible danger to humans.

    The HKU5 virus was first identified in bats in China back in 2006. The above-mentioned articles indicate that one of its variants seems to have a binding site in the S protein for the same human cell receptors as the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. However, this virus has not yet caused disease in any human, although it has the potential to do so. However, almost any animal virus has this potential.

    It should be noted that the bats from whose organisms it was isolated are carriers of hundreds of different viruses, but only a few are capable of infecting people. This means that the danger of the newly discovered virus to people is highly questionable.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Winter in Moscow”: wedding ceremonies were held on the skating rinks at VDNKh and Vorobyovy Gory

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    On the largest skating rink in Moscow and for the first time on the skating rink of the Moscow Palace of Pioneers on Vorobyovy Gory on a beautiful date – February 25, 2025 – the capital’s registry offices held off-site wedding ceremonies. The newlyweds exchanged rings on the ice and made the event truly unforgettable. The skating rinks are operating within the framework of the project “Winter in Moscow”.

    “Winter wedding ceremonies on skates have become our good tradition for the last few years. During this time, 12 capital couples tied the knot on skates in the company of friends and family. On this beautiful date, over 800 couples got married in Moscow, four new families were created on the skating rinks at VDNKh and on Vorobyovy Gory. The ceremonies were held in different formats – at VDNKh, the newlyweds exchanged rings during the day against the backdrop of the exhibition’s architecture and the Friendship of Nations fountain, on Vorobyovy Gory the celebrations took place in the evening with cozy lighting and wedding decor,” said

    Svetlana Ukhaneva, Head of the Civil Registry Office of Moscow.

    Ice skating wedding

    Marriage registration on ice rinks has become a good tradition of winter seasons. On Tuesday, two wedding ceremonies took place on the largest skating rink in the capital at VDNKh. The newlyweds were on skates and in festive outfits that matched the entourage of the ice rink. The official marriage registration was carried out by employees of the capital’s registry offices.

    The largest skating rink at VDNKh this year is located in its traditional place — along the Main Alley between pavilions No. 1 “Central” and No. 58 “Agriculture”. The ice rink goes around the fountains “Friendship of Peoples” and “Stone Flower”. The area of the artificial ice surface is more than 20 thousand square meters.

    In addition, the evening ceremonies were held for the first time on the skating rink of the Moscow Palace of Pioneers on Vorobyovy Gory. It was decorated with modern wedding decor, and the names of the newlyweds were displayed on the multimedia screen during the ceremonies. Natural evening and artistic lighting added coziness to the ceremony.

    Love reigns here

    In addition, on the beautiful date of February 25, 2025, the Wedding Palace at VDNKh celebrated its 11th anniversary since its opening. The building was constructed in 1939 according to the design of the famous architect Nikolai Kolli. The historic mansion has a large hall and living rooms, which are ideal for gathering guests, holding receptions, photo and video shooting.

    The area of the ceremonial hall is 100 square meters, which allows for more than 30 people to be accommodated, ensuring a comfortable and solemn event. The interval between registrations here is twice as long as in other wedding palaces in Moscow.

    The solemnity of the marriage registration ceremony is provided by the musical accompaniment of a string trio. The newlyweds are offered to choose any of 60 compositions. During the buffet, guests can order a harp performance.

    An application for marriage registration is submitted in person at the Wedding Palace at VDNKh, as well as at any government services center “My Documents” or online through the public services portal or Mos.ru.

    It is also possible to organize an off-site marriage registration. Among the venues are the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center, the Moscow Sun Ferris Wheel, and the Moskvarium. These places are included in the project “New Addresses of Happiness”.

    There are more than 50 venues available for holding ceremonies in Moscow, including wedding palaces, museums, metro stations, estates and restaurants. The service will help future newlyweds make their choice “Our Wedding” on the mos.ru portal. This is a detailed guide to wedding ceremony locations in the capital. Using filters, you can set the necessary parameters, such as the type of venue, interior style, and other features. In addition, the service allows you to specify the desired registration date, the nearest metro station, the maximum number of guests, and much more. The pages of the venues contain detailed descriptions and contact phone numbers.

    You can apply for marriage registration on the public services portal or on mos.ru, as well as in wedding palaces. The state fee is 350 rubles.

    The first wedding ceremonies of 2025 took place at Mayakovskaya metro station

    The Winter in Moscow project is the main event of the season, which until February 28 brings together various events in the capital. Citizens and tourists are invited to remember traditions and history, warm up with tea and hot buns, go ice skating, watch ice shows, give gifts to people who find themselves in a difficult life situation, and show concern for those who need it.

    Muscovites and guests of the capital are offered a huge selection of events in the open air and in cultural and sports institutions. The atmosphere of winter traditions has engulfed the entire city – more than 1.9 thousand sites are open. The largest festivals of the capital are organically woven into the project: “Moscow Estates”, “Moscow Tea Party”, “City of Light” and many others. All information about the project and the events of the winter season can be found in a special section of mos.ru.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Capital fairs offer Maslenitsa treats and pancake fillings

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The capital’s weekend fairs offer customers fresh products for the family table on Maslenitsa. The shelves offer various fillings for pancakes and holiday treats. This includes farm honey, fresh homemade cheeses, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish products, cottage cheese and much more.

    The most popular sweet fillings include honey, jam, condensed milk and butter. In addition, customers often choose chicken with mushrooms, apples and pears with homemade cheese, feta cheese with spinach and beets with basil and goat cheese for their pancakes.

    Among dietary ones, vegetable fillings are in demand – these are fried pumpkin, carrots, zucchini and sweet peppers – as well as spinach with grated low-fat cheese with the addition of garlic or berries with coconut condensed milk.

    Farmers suggest diversifying the holiday menu and experimenting with ingredients. For example, you can serve cream cheese with herbs and walnuts, chicken with mushrooms and cream, feta with olives and finely chopped tomatoes, and caramelized apples with cinnamon with pancakes. In addition, customers will be offered to try cream cheese with horseradish, pumpkin filling with soft cheese, as well as nut, chocolate and many others.

    The capital’s fairs present high-quality farm products from more than 40 regions of Russia. Specialists Veterinary Committee of the City of Moscow They check the goods immediately before sending them to the shelves; 18 mobile laboratories operate on site, which guarantees the safety of the products.

    The fair pavilions are located near metro stations and other crowded places. They are equipped with commercial and refrigeration equipment, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning and video surveillance systems, so that visitors feel comfortable at any time of the year.

    The indoor winter markets are open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 08:00 to 20:00.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Moscow schoolchildren can prepare for the Unified State Exam with the help of “MESh”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    On the platform “Moscow Electronic School” (MES) provides services for students and their parents, allowing them to competently organize preparation for the Unified State Exam and Basic State Exam (USE and OGE), as well as consciously choose a suitable educational institution.

    “The Moscow Electronic School has become an important assistant for Moscow schoolchildren in their studies. The platform includes a wide range of content, including for preparing for final exams, so students can save time and quickly find the topics they need. This approach simplifies preparation and makes it more structured,” the press service of the Moscow

    Department of Education and Science.

    Thus, the service “Exams” is available for graduates, where all the necessary materials for successfully passing the Unified State Exam are collected. During this academic year, more than 80 thousand schoolchildren used it almost 320 thousand times. Here, graduates can familiarize themselves with the content of exercises in all subjects and recommended materials for preparation. In particular, these are annually updated video analysis of Unified State Exam assignments, in which the best teachers of the capital share their experience and analyze examples from previous years. This format helps children to better understand complex topics, avoid common mistakes and increase their self-confidence before exams. Teachers can use the materials in workshops to prepare for the Unified State Exam or attach them to homework so that students repeat the topic covered and better assimilate the material.

    Video analysis of Unified State Exam assignments in all subjects has appeared in the MES library

    This year, 424 video analyses have already been created. They are available in the “Exams” service in the web version of the electronic diary on the website Shul.mos.ru and in the mobile application “MESH Diary”, as well as on the home page of the MES library in the selection “Preparation for the Unified State Exam-2025”. In this section, 281 video analysis for preparation for the unified city test appeared. The materials were published in advance so that graduates had enough time to fully work through the topics.

    To consolidate the material studied, the Exams service offers about 1,600 tests with automatic checking. Students can study at a comfortable pace, devoting more time to those tasks that cause difficulties. In addition, MES has more than 100 videos with recommendations on how to manage time during the exam and fill out the Unified State Exam forms, as well as with advice from psychologists on stress management and memory development.

    In order for the students to understand what they should focus on during their preparation, the topics that may be encountered on the Unified State Exam and the Basic State Exam are marked with special icons in the MESH electronic diary. They are displayed in the lesson cards in the schedule and help to find the necessary materials faster. These functions can be used in the web version of the electronic diary on the website Shul.mos.ru and in the mobile application “MESH Diary”.

    In addition, everything necessary for preparing for exams is collected in the MES library. Thus, the service provides educational materials on mathematics, which were developed by specialists of the electronic educational system “Gipermatika”. Graduates can use collections of problems to prepare for the Unified State Exam, and students in grades 6-11 can take mathematical courses, including theoretical and practical parts.

    A virtual laboratory will help you prepare for the OGE and USE in computer science on your own “MESH Informatics”. A selection of courses and practical tasks will allow you to consolidate or improve your knowledge of the subject, as well as understand how much time it takes to solve a particular test.

    In addition, the children can use the materials of the online service “Cloud of Knowledge”. They include 430 simulators and 142 assignment options for preparing for the Unified State Exam and the Basic State Exam.

    You can get help in choosing a college in the service “Student Portfolio”. This contains the results of professional testing and personal recommendations from career mentors. Ninth-graders can learn more about their abilities, identify their inclinations for certain professions, and decide on the direction of their further education.

    “Moscow Electronic School”— a joint project of the capital’s Departments of Education and Science Andinformation technology, created in 2016. A single digital educational platform is available to Moscow teachers, students and their parents. Among the main services of “MES” are a library of educational materials, an electronic diary and journal, “Moskvenok”, “Student Portfolio” and “Olympiads”.

    Providing the capital’s schoolchildren with modern digital services increases the efficiency of the educational process, helps children to plan their school and personal time wisely and corresponds to the objectives of the “All the Best for Children” national project “Youth and Children”.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: 20 thousand fragments: how 19th century mosaic icons were restored

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Specialists have restored mosaic panels with the faces of St. Olga and St. Panteleimon on the facades of the buildings of the former St. Olga Children’s Hospital. This is one of the stages of complex work to preserve the architectural ensemble of the late 19th century, located at 2a Orlovo-Davydovsky Lane. It includes four buildings and a park.

    A mosaic panel with the face of the healer Panteleimon decorates the facade of one of the buildings (it once housed an outpatient department), and an icon of St. Olga decorates another building (this building historically housed the main hospital building). All buildings in the ensemble are made of red brick in the eclectic style according to the designs of architects Konstantin Bykovsky and Vasily Barkov.

    “The smalt mosaic panels are an important part of the facade decoration of the former hospital buildings. Special attention was paid to their restoration. The icons are made of 20 thousand fragments of colored opaque glass, which are dated 1897-1899. The icon of St. Panteleimon is well preserved, so the work was carried out directly on the facade. And the condition of the panel with the image of St. Olga was critical, so it was dismantled and moved to a restoration workshop. There, specialists carefully cleaned the icon, made up for the losses, and then returned it to its historical place,” said the head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the city of Moscow.

    Alexey Emelyanov.

    The comprehensive restoration of the architectural ensemble, the first in its entire existence, began in 2022. At the same time, they began to put the historical icons in order. Specialists did a large amount of work: they selected and agreed on the restoration technique, conducted a chemical analysis of the mosaic material at the Ilya Glazunov Russian Academy of Painting.

    It is planned to fully complete all work for the architectural ensemble of the former St. Olga Children’s Hospital in 2025. It is a cultural heritage site of regional significance, so the restoration is being carried out under the supervision of specialists from the Moscow City Department of Cultural Heritage.

    The complex of buildings is located in the Meshchansky district. It was built according to the design of the architect Konstantin Mikhailovich Bykovsky using funds from Count Sergei Vladimirovich Orlov-Davydov. This is how he decided to perpetuate the memory of his beloved mother, Olga Orlova-Davydova. The institution was named in honor of her patroness, Saint Olga.

    It was a small hospital town, on the territory of which there was a two-story brick building with one-story buildings adjoining it on the sides, as well as several wooden buildings of the outpatient building, auxiliary services and a chapel.

    In May 1885, the foundation stone of a large stone building for a children’s hospital was laid; outpatient treatment began in December 1886, and an inpatient department was opened in January 1888.

    Ten years after the medical institution was founded, Count Sergei Orlov-Davydov petitioned the committee of the Imperial Philanthropic Society to begin expanding the hospital. The design for the new buildings was commissioned from Moscow architect Vasily Vasilyevich Barkov. The wooden buildings were replaced with stone ones. At the same time, mosaic panels with images of the healer Panteleimon and the patroness of the hospital, Saint Olga, appeared on the facades of the buildings. The grand opening of the new buildings took place on December 11, 1899.

    Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century, the ensemble of stone buildings of the St. Olga Children’s Hospital was formed in the then widespread style of red-brick eclecticism. A characteristic feature of this architectural trend is decorative elements made of white brick and stone.

    Over the past 14 years, more than 2.3 thousand cultural heritage sites have been restored in Moscow. The restoration of the historic buildings of the former St. Olga Children’s Hospital in Orlovo-Davydovsky Lane fully complies with the goals and objectives of the national project “Culture”.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Walk in an ancient oak grove and watch animals: how to spend Wildlife Day at VDNKh

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    March 3 is World Wildlife Day. The holiday is designed to show people the beauty of animals and plants, and also to remind them of the importance of preserving biological diversity on the planet. On this day, it is worth going for a walk in the picturesque corners of forests and parks, enjoying their beautiful views. One of the best places for such walks in Moscow can be VDNKh. Here you can meet squirrels, as well as tits, woodpeckers, nuthatches, jays, magpies, ducks, owls and other birds. VDNKh invites you to take a break from the bustle of the metropolis and enrich your knowledge of wildlife.

    Wander through an ancient oak grove and treat curious squirrels

    To see and study the habits of birds and animals, VDNKh guests need to go to the Kamensky ponds cascade, the Sheremetyevskaya oak grove, and Ostankino Park. Many trees grow in these places and there are ponds, so most of the feathered inhabitants have chosen them.

    You can start your walk from the Sheremetyevskaya oak grove. This is a unique place on the territory of VDNKh. There is a natural broad-leaved forest here, which has been preserved for many centuries. In the 18th-19th centuries, the oak grove belonged to the possessions of one of the most prominent noble families – the Sheremetevs. However, a dense forest was on this territory in the 16th century. Today, pedunculate oaks, as well as larch, pine, Manchurian walnut and other trees grow in the grove. The average age of oaks is 150 years, but there are also 200-year-old specimens.

    The Sheremetyevskaya oak grove is one of the squirrels’ favorite habitats. In winter, their fur is bluish-gray, and in summer, it is red. You can bring healthy treats for the friendly rodents: walnuts and pine nuts, dried fruits, sunflower seeds or wheat crackers. The main thing is that the treat is not salty, fried or sweet, and does not contain aromatic or flavor additives.

    Another place where hundreds of squirrels live is Ostankino Park. In addition, you can watch the nimble fluffy animals and listen to the birds singing by climbing the eco-trail. This half-kilometer walking path is above the ground. Its height reaches 6.5 meters. Walking along the path is safe for both adults and children. The structure is completely fenced with railings, and the boards have an anti-slip coating. From above, visitors can admire the beautiful views of nature and notice squirrels and birds in the tree branches. The path has many twists and turns, so the walk will not seem monotonous. In the evenings, the lighting is turned on here.

    After the Sheremetyevskaya oak grove, it is worth heading to the cascade of Kamensky ponds. It was created in 1803. In 1954, all four ponds became part of the territory of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (later VDNKh). During the reconstruction in 2018, the reservoirs were drained, cleaned and refilled with water. The most notable object here is the Golden Ear fountain. It is located in the center of the Third Kamensky pond and is considered the most spectacular at VDNKh. In early spring, it is pleasant to admire the beautiful views here. And when it gets warmer, there is a chance to meet common newts, toads, grass and sharp-nosed frogs, viviparous lizards and snakes.

    Meet the red duck and other birds

    According to ornithologists, more than 70 species of birds live at VDNKh in the warm season, including rare species listed in the Red Book. Most of them fly away to the southern regions for the winter when the cold weather sets in. But there are also those that live in the exhibition park area all year round. For example, tits, sparrows, woodpeckers, crows, nuthatches, jays, magpies. Most of the birds live near the Kamensky ponds cascade, the eco-trail in the Sheremetyevskaya oak grove and in Ostankino Park.

    Common mallards live on the VDNKh ponds. They have frost-resistant paws with few nerve endings. Thermoregulation is arranged in a special way. The arteries that bring blood to the ducks’ paws are closely intertwined with the veins, which ensures the exchange of heat between the hot arterial and colder venous blood. Thanks to this, mallards can easily walk on ice and snow.

    And in the Ostankino Park lives the common shelduck, or red duck. These birds are listed in the Red Book of Russia under the third category of rarity. During wintering, shelducks gather in small groups with other birds.

    Owls live in Ostankino Park and the N.V. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences. These birds are nocturnal, so they can only be seen at night. Four species of owls can be found at VDNKh: the gray owl, the long-eared owl, the long-tailed owl, and the pygmy owl. These places are also home to two species of hawks that lead an exclusively diurnal lifestyle: the sparrowhawk and the goshawk.

    Anyone going for a walk around VDNKh should take bird food with them. Stationary and hanging feeders can be found in Ostankino Park. Winter feeding will help birds survive the cold. In addition, this is a great opportunity to watch them and study their habits. Different treats in the feeder will attract certain types of birds. For example, if you put cereals, sparrows will flock there. Pine cones, nuts, and acorns will interest woodpeckers and jays. Bullfinches will come to taste dried rowan or hawthorn berries.

    However, it is important to remember that birds should not be given fresh and rye bread, smoked and fried foods, chips and salted seeds. The amount of food should not be excessive. In addition, do not put in the feeders what you were going to throw away, you need to put only fresh products. You can feed them with unsalted seeds, oatmeal, fresh and dried fruits and berries.

    Before the walk, it is recommended to study the “VDNKh Bird Book”. The publication contains interesting information about different species and behavioral characteristics of birds, including those wintering in their native lands. In addition, a map of the exhibition and Ostankino Park is published here, where the most convenient places for bird watching are marked. The electronic version of the book is posted on the VDNKh website.

    With the arrival of spring, migratory birds will return to VDNKh. The first to arrive here after wintering will be rooks, starlings and finches. Guests will be able to see them very soon – in March. In April, thrushes, warblers and robins usually return. And in May, the park will be filled with the delightful singing of nightingales and the ringing chirping of orioles and lentils.

    The Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy (VDNKh) is one of the largest green areas of the capital. Its ensemble is a unique object of landscape architecture, a monument of garden and park art of the mid-20th century.

    Today VDNKh is a major international exhibition center, a museum city and a modern platform for education and recreation of city residents and tourists. Many important cultural, scientific and economic events are held here, which are visited by tens of thousands of people. The total area of the territory is more than 325 hectares.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Developments by enterprises of the Technopolis Moscow SEZ have won grants from the Russian Science Foundation

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Developments by enterprises of the special economic zone (SEZ) Technopolis Moscow have won grants from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) in the field of Microelectronics. Seven companies of the SEZ Technopolis Moscow presented projects in the field of microelectronics. This was reported by the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of Investment and Industrial Policy Anatoly Garbuzov.

    “The Technopolis Moscow Special Economic Zone is a center for the development of high technologies. Here, companies create unique and innovative products that have no analogues either in Russia or in the world. Seven Moscow enterprises became winners of the competition held by the Russian Science Foundation. They presented 10 scientific and scientific-technical projects. According to the terms of the competition, the foundation will conclude agreements on further cooperation with the winners. At the next stage, contractors will be selected for the work on proposals that will be financed by the RSF. The projects must be implemented within three years,” said Anatoly Garbuzov.

    The Russian Science Foundation allocates grants for fundamental research and supports applied developments within the framework of strategic initiatives defined by the President of Russia. According to Deputy Chairman of the Scientific and Technological Council of the Russian Science Foundation, Doctor of Technical Sciences Sergey Gavrilov, one of the criteria for assessing the results of scientific activity can be the level of science intensity and demand for products manufactured by enterprises of the Technopolis Moscow SEZ. According to this indicator, companies based in the Technopolis Moscow SEZ occupy leading positions in their fields, he added. They become winners of the RSF competitions, which confirms the high scientific level of research and development of companies. Subsequent implementation of scientific and technical projects on selected technological proposals will make a breakthrough in the development of the radio-electronic industry and raise it to a new level of competence and capabilities.

    “The development and implementation of these proposals will allow Russia to achieve technological sovereignty in the field of microelectronics. In addition, the active replacement of foreign software and equipment allows companies to increase their profits,” emphasized Gennady Degtyarev, General Director of the Technopolis Moscow SEZ.

    For example, the Elta company, one of the winners of the competition, proposed the development of silicon CMOS photodetectors and an optoelectronic unit for the rapid determination of glycated hemoglobin in the blood. As General Director Yuri Glukhov noted, today in Russia they produce devices that analyze it and are necessary for monitoring and screening in clinics to detect diabetes or prediabetes. The development of an optoelectronic unit for the creation of a domestic portable medical analyzer will allow for the import substitution of such medical equipment.

    Another resident of the Technopolis Moscow SEZ, the Research Institute of Molecular Electronics, presented a project to create domestically produced ultra-pure materials for the microelectronics industry. As noted by General Director Alexander Kravtsov, precursors (organometallic compounds) will be used to develop structures for ferroelectric and resistive memory, as well as to form a gate dielectric in transistors of a topological level of 45 nanometers and less.

    In addition, the winners of the RSF competition included such companies as NM-Tech, Epiel, Proton Plant, Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center, and Lassard.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: The city has put eight premises in the Basmanny district up for auction

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Eight commercial properties free-use in the Basmanny District was put up for auction. This was reported by the head of the capital’s Department of Competition Policy Kirill Purtov.

    “Real estate in the center of the capital is especially in demand among investors, as it allows doing business in areas with high traffic and good business and tourist activity. Premises with an area of 37.5 to 409.9 square meters have a flexible purpose and are suitable for implementing various business projects. Application campaigns for them will end between March 4 and 26. Bidding will begin on March 13 and will last until April 4, depending on the selected lot,” said Kirill Purtov.

    The premises are located in residential buildings and office buildings. Seven of them are located on Zemlyanoy Val, Myasnitskaya, Novaya Basmannaya streets and on Chistoprudny Boulevard, they are connected to electricity, water supply and sewerage. The premises on Armyansky Lane are connected only to electricity.

    To participate in the auction, you will need registration on the Roseltorg platform and an enhanced qualified electronic signature. The organizer of the auction is Moscow City Department of Competition Policy.

    Moscow is a city that develops entrepreneurship. The capital puts various properties up for auction, and the showcase of the offered objects is Moscow Investment Portal. More than 400 non-residential premises and buildings are currently available to investors. In the section “Property from the city” All necessary information about the lots is published: photographs, documentation, conditions and form of implementation. Here you can also take a 3D tour of the objects. Participating in city auctions is convenient – the entire procedure takes place online.

    Development of electronic services for business corresponds to the objectives of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State” and the regional project of the city of Moscow “Digital Public Administration”.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Residents of the building on Litvina-Sedogo Street received new apartments under the renovation program

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    About 150 Muscovites, who previously lived in a five-story building on Litvina-Sedogo Street, have become the owners of comfortable apartments in a new building in the Presnensky District. This was reported by the Minister of the Moscow Government, the head of the capital’s Department of City Property Maxim Gaman.

    “All residents of house 10 on Litvina-Sedogo Street received comfortable apartments in a short time under the renovation program in a new building at 19 Presnensky Val Street. This is about 150 people who signed contracts with the Department. Their neighbors in the new building will be Muscovites from two five-story buildings on Podvoiskogo Street and one on Strelbishchensky Lane. They are also completing the paperwork. In total, more than 600 city residents will move to the new residential complex,” said Maxim Gaman.

    Participants in the program are provided with equivalent apartments with finished repairs and necessary equipment: plumbing, electric stoves, lighting fixtures. The total area of the new housing is no less than the previous one or even more due to wide corridors and spacious kitchens.

    “The new building on Presnensky Val will have 344 apartments with finished, improved finishing. The entrance hall has rooms for concierges and pram storage. The first floor is non-residential. Currently, there is a resettlement information centre there. Later, social and household infrastructure facilities may open in its place. The area around the residential complex has been landscaped: comprehensive landscaping has been carried out, recreation areas have been equipped, as well as children’s and sports grounds. The metro stations “Ulitsa 1905 Goda” and “Belorusskaya” are within walking distance from the new building,” the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of Urban Development Policy, specified.

    Vladislav Ovchinsky.

    In total, about eight thousand people from 53 old buildings are planned to be resettled in Presnensky District under the renovation program. All city residents living in 22 of them, including house 10 on Litvina-Sedogo Street, have already become owners of apartments in new buildings. Residents of four more five-story buildings continue to process documents.

    Previously Mayor of Moscow told on the results of the renovation program implementation in 2024.

    The renovation program was approved in August 2017. It concerns about a million Muscovites and provides for the resettlement of 5,176 houses. Sergei Sobyanin instructed to double the pace of implementation of the renovation program.

    Moscow is one of the leaders among regions in terms of construction volumes. High rates of housing construction correspond to the goals and initiatives of the national project “Infrastructure for life”.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU scientists are the first in the world to use a time-projection chamber for accelerator mass spectrometry

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    Researchers of the Center for Collective Use “Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of NSU-NNC” have tested for the first time an ion detector based on a low-pressure VPK on the MICADAS accelerator spectrometer and obtained the first results. This device was installed instead of the native MICADAS detector (ionization chamber), in which the ions of the C14 isotope are counted, based on the results of which the dating of the studied sample is performed.

    In 2023, this time-projection chamber was installed for the first time on a domestic accelerator mass spectrometer, which is made and maintained by the G.I. Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS and is located in the Cenozoic Geochronology Shared Utility Center of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS. It was successfully tested on a beam of 14C ions with an energy of 4 MeV and proved to be operational. Later, this chamber was tested on a beam of 14C ions with an energy of 0.4 MeV at the MIKADAS UMS. If the experiments are successful, a smaller VPK will be created in the future for installation on the prototype of the first domestic low-voltage universal accelerator mass spectrometer, which is being created by NSU scientists within the framework of the Priority-2030 program.

    Time-projection chamber (TPC) — in application to accelerator mass spectrometry, this is a method of identifying low-energy heavy ions based on measuring their path lengths in gas. The principle of operation is as follows: ions fly into the chamber through a thin entrance window. Then they lose energy due to ionization losses. As a result, a trail of gas ions and electrons is formed along the track. These electrons, under the influence of an external electric field, drift in the gas at a constant speed in the direction of the GEM, where they are amplified. At the end, the amplified electrons are collected on a collector and digitized by the data acquisition system. Thus, the electron collection time corresponds to the ion path length.

    — Previously, the time-projection chamber was developed for the INP UMS to separate ions with the same atomic masses and different nuclear charges. This gas detector will separate Be10 (beryllium) ions from B10 (boron). Since the nuclei of boron and beryllium have different charges, with equal initial energies, their path lengths in a gas environment are different and the VPK will separate them. Be10 has a longer half-life (1.39 million years) compared to 14C (5730 years), so measuring the 10Be content will allow scientists to date geological samples, — explained Ekaterina Parkhomchuk, Director of the UMS NSU-NNC Collective Use Center.

    The MICADAS accelerator mass spectrometer, unlike the domestic multiisotope, is aimed only at detecting and determining the amount of the rare isotope C14 in the samples being studied. C14 ions pass through the entire accelerator mass spectrometer and then enter the gas detector, where they are identified and counted.

    — Accelerator mass spectrometers are equipped with various types of detectors. For example, the MICADAS UMS has an ionization chamber. We replaced it with a time-projection chamber. One of the important parts of the MICADAS ionization chamber is the preamplifier. If it fails, MICADAS will stop, and we will have to either buy a new preamplifier, which is very difficult in the current circumstances, — said Alexey Petrozhitsky, engineer at the Center for Collective Use “Accelerator Mass Spectrometry NSU-NNC”.

    It is important that ionization chambers have one significant drawback – they operate in a mode where the signal-to-noise ratio is far from optimal. In addition, the preamplifier is very demanding of electronics, unlike the gas analyzer, which is equipped with a time-projection chamber.

    — In our detector, we amplify the signal using a gas electron multiplier, which significantly reduces the requirements for the electronics of the data acquisition system. In addition, our VPK produces a much better signal-to-noise ratio, is easy to manufacture, operate and repair. We needed to find an answer to the question: is it possible to use the VPK as a detector of 14C ions with an energy of 0.4 MeV? And in the course of our work, we came to a positive answer. We are confident that the time-projection chamber we have developed can be used as the final detector in the first domestic universal low-voltage accelerator mass spectrometer, which we are currently working on. The experiments we are currently conducting are aimed precisely at testing the detector for the first domestic UMS, and the MICADAS setup acts as an ion beam source available to us. This can be called the first brick for building our own setup. When a project already has a detector that registers particles, it means that a significant area of problems has already been covered and other specialists can join in the creation of a new UMS, ensuring the execution of work at the next stage, commented Tamara Shakirova, a junior researcher at the Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS, the Center for Collective Use “Accelerator Mass Spectrometry NSU-NNC”.

    Currently, tests of the time-projection chamber at MICADAS are carried out on two types of samples: the ANU standard sample (IAEA-C6, sugar) with a 14C content close to the modern level and a “blank” (polyethylene CH – Elemental Microanalysis B2024 standard) with a 14C content of 0.002 of the modern level. The purpose of the tests is to optimize the operating parameters: working gas pressure, gain, electron drift velocity.

    — We have collected a sufficient amount of data, and are currently processing and analyzing it. The main thing is that we have made sure that the time-projection chamber works in the mode we expect and produces clearly readable signals above background values. We can certainly say that we can read C14 from them, which is quite suitable for conducting radiocarbon analysis of samples, — said Alexey Petrozhitsky.

    Reference:

    Accelerator mass spectrometry is a method for measuring the concentration of rare long-lived cosmogenic isotopes in a sample: 10Be, 14C, 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca, 129I. It is based on the extraction of atoms from the sample with subsequent “piece by piece” counting of the isotopes of interest. The high accuracy of AMS analysis allows measuring the concentration of a rare isotope. This method is used in many sciences, for example, in archeology, geology, biomedicine, ecology, astrophysics. It is most widely used in radiocarbon dating of archaeological objects, that is, recording the concentration of the carbon-14 isotope. The time interval of dating for 14C goes back as far as 50 thousand years. Determining the concentration of another cosmogenic nuclide 10Be is also of interest, since the time interval of dating is much wider – up to 10 million years.

    Currently, the NSU-NSC Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Shared Utility Center has two UMS installations. The first was created by scientists from the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS more than 10 years ago. The second Swiss-made MICADAS accelerator mass spectrometer was purchased in 2019. Scientists from Novosibirsk State University, the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS, the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS, and the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis as part of the Center’s research group are working on creating a domestic low-voltage universal accelerator mass spectrometer that will combine the advantages of the first two installations. The project is designed for five years and is being implemented with the support of the Priority-2030 program.

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  • MIL-OSI China: Iran rejects nuclear talks ‘under pressure’

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi (R) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint press conference in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 25, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Iran will not negotiate over its nuclear program while facing external pressure or sanctions, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi declared Tuesday during a joint press conference with his visiting Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Tehran.

    Araghchi reiterated Iran’s refusal to hold direct talks with the United States unless Washington ends its “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign.

    The U.S. reimposed sanctions after abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018, prompting Tehran to scale back its nuclear commitments under the accord.

    “Negotiations under pressure, threats, and sanctions are meaningless,” Araghchi said, emphasizing that Iran had engaged in “close consultations” with Moscow on reviving the JCPOA. Efforts to restore the pact commenced in 2021 but resulted in no substantial progress.

    For his part, Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s backing for diplomatic measures to salvage the agreement, stating, “We believe the diplomatic capacity still exists to revive the deal without threats or coercion.”

    He pledged Moscow’s support for solutions and asserted that “the crisis had not been created by Iran.”

    The ministers also addressed regional conflicts, including in Gaza and Syria, with Iran voicing support for Syria’s territorial integrity.

    Lavrov described talks with Araghchi as “comprehensive, fruitful, and constructive,” noting progress in cooperation between the two countries by highlighting a 13-percent surge in bilateral trade in 2024.

    He also criticized unilateral sanctions on Tehran as “unacceptable,” according to Russian state media. Both sides agreed to expand cooperation to counter the sanctions’ effects.

    Lavrov visited Tehran earlier Tuesday for talks spanning energy, trade, and regional security. He then headed to Qatar to continue his working visit in the Middle East.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Macron-Trump meeting highlights divide on Ukraine between Europe, US

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    French President Emmanuel Macron, following extensive discussions with European leaders over the past few days, met with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in the White House on Monday in a bid to let the collective voice of Europe on the Ukraine crisis be heard.

    Despite the outwardly cordial atmosphere, the meeting underscored a noticeable divide between Europe and the United States on how to achieve a comprehensive resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.

    Noticeable divide

    Trump and Macron on Monday agreed on realizing lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia, but Macron publicly refuted Trump’s claim that the situation was “unfair” to the United States in terms of how the country and its European allies provided aid to Ukraine.

    “Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They’re getting their money back,” Trump said as he made the case for Washington’s ongoing effort to press Ukraine into signing a deal that would give the United States the right to extract Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as a way to recoup the aid money provided by Washington during the conflict.

    Grabbing Trump’s arm to interject, Macron said, “No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60 percent of the total effort.” He went on to clarify that European aid to Ukraine was structured similarly to American aid. “It was like the United States: loans, guarantees, grants.”

    Shrugging off Macron’s interjection, Trump said, “If you believe that, it’s OK with me. They get their money back, and we don’t. But now we do.”

    Coveting Ukraine’s mineral wealth

    On Monday, Trump said that he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “this week or next” at the White House, and that a final deal on “rare earths and various other things” was very close.

    Separately, European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stephane Sejourne said on Monday that during a visit to Kiev, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he offered Ukrainian officials a mutually beneficial agreement on critical minerals.

    “Twenty-one of the 30 critical materials that Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine as part of a mutually beneficial partnership,” Sejourne said after a meeting with Ukrainian officials, AFP reported.

    “The added value that Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that is not mutually beneficial,” he added.

    A stronger partner

    During his talks with Trump in Washington, Macron said that Europe is ready to become a stronger partner and do more in terms of defense.

    “As Europeans, we have committed to being stakeholders in these security guarantees,” Macron told the press conference.

    For Macron, European peacekeeping troops could be one of the guarantees for a long-standing peace in Ukraine.

    “We want peace swiftly, but we don’t want an agreement that is weak,” he said, adding Europeans understand they need to do more to strengthen regional security.

    For Trump, the cost and burden of security must be borne by Europe and not the United States alone.

    He has made clear that no U.S. boots will be on the ground in Ukraine. However, he assured his French counterpart that Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept the presence of European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.

    After almost three decades of reducing defense spending, Europe has been stepping up its own defense in recent years.

    According to statistics published by the European Council, between 2021 and 2024, the European Union (EU) member states’ total defense expenditure rose by more than 30 percent. In 2024, it reached an estimated 326 billion euros (341.3 billion U.S. dollars), about 1.9 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP). Expenditure is expected to rise by more than another 100 billion euros (105 billion dollars) in real terms by 2027.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing on Stephen Feinberg, Deputy Secretary of Defense Nominee

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today chaired a hearing examining the nomination of Mr. Stephen A. Feinberg to be the next Deputy Secretary of Defense.
    In his opening statement, Chairman Wicker discussed the catastrophic national security environment, in which China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly aligned. He added that Feinberg’s experience in the private sector offers an opportunity to advance an agenda prioritizing speed, accountability, and efficiency at the Department, and that Feinberg would play a key role in refocusing the Department on those values.
    Chairman Wicker also raised his landmark defense policy reports – “21st Century Peace Through Strength” and “Freedom’s Forge” as examples of the kind of work required to reform the Pentagon to restore our military and rebuild our defense industrial base.
    Stephen Feinberg is the CEO of Cerberus Capital Management, one of the nation’s top private equity firms. Feinberg also served as Chairman of President Trump’s Intelligence Oversight Board, as well as Chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board from 2018 to 2021.
    Read Senator Wicker’s opening statement as delivered below.
    I thank our guest for being here. And we are here this morning to consider the nomination of Stephen Feinberg, who’s been nominated to be Deputy Secretary of Defense.
    If confirmed, Mr. Feinberg would join the Department of Defense during the most dangerous security environment since World War II. He would oversee the operations of the Department as it faces an emerging Axis of Aggressors. This dangerous coalition, which is characterized by military cooperation between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, presents a complex and far-reaching set of threats. Make no mistake: our enemies do not want a 21st century defined by peace and prosperity for the American people.
    Mr. Feinberg would be a crucial part of the team task with meeting those threats. Unfortunately, the defense investments we’ve made during the Cold War have long since evaporated. Defense spending is near record lows as a percentage of our gross domestic product, and all aspects of our military forces are now in dire need of repair or replacement.
    Our Navy, once the envy of all seafaring nations, is now too small and too old to meet the growing demands of our combatant commanders. Our nuclear forces used to be the most robust and effective on the planet. Now they are decades older than their intended service lives. Our Air Force continues to shrink. We have yet to figure out how to scale innovative weapons into mass production. We have a $200 billion backlog in basic maintenance that leaves our troops living and working in substandard conditions — $200 billion just dealing with living and working conditions. And I could go on.
    Clearly, there are many things that need fixing at the Department of Defense. Fortunately, Mr. Feinberg has spent his entire career fixing things. I believe he will make a very fine Deputy Secretary of Defense.
    Mr. Feinberg ran a highly successful large organization for three decades, making him eminently qualified to run the Pentagon effectively. He brings extensive experience at the intersection of international economics and national security. Mr. Feinberg is remarkably attuned to the scope and scale of the challenges we face, as well as the opportunities we might exploit. His work on National Defense is significant, and has ranged from Subic Bay acquisition to counter-Huawei efforts, and from spectrum sharing to hypersonic testing.
    Unlike the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy does not often make high-profile policy speeches or travel around the world to engage with allies and adversaries. I do not expect to see much of Mr. Feinberg in the news if he is confirmed. But make no mistake: the Pentagon cannot function without a capable Deputy.
    In many ways, the Deputy runs the day-to-day operations of the department – driving the budget process, managing the principal staff assistance, and ensuring the Secretary of Defense is provided with data-driven and thoughtful options.
    In Mr. Feinberg, President Trump has found a deputy who combines cutting-edge private sector skills with a thorough understanding of U.S. national security interests and the Department of Defense.
    Today, we will hear Mr. Feinberg’s views on issues facing the Department of Defense. I look forward to his thoughts on my proposals. Last year I released a report entitled “21st Century Peace Through Strength.” I hope this can serve as a blueprint to reinvigorate and rebuild our military.
    Additionally, I released a Pentagon reform and innovation plan called “Restoring Freedom’s Forge: American Innovation Unleashed.” I hope it brings much needed reforms and fundamentally changes the way the department does business. We must cut red tape and get better weapons to our troops faster, all while maximizing taxpayer dollars.
    So, I thank Mr. Feinberg and his family and his friends for being here today. I believe he has a lot to offer as the Department of Defense directs its focus to lethality, efficiency, speed, and accountability.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI—Hagerty Joins America’s Newsroom on Fox News to Discuss Trump’s Peace Negotiations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
    WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, today joined America’s Newsroom on Fox News to discuss President Donald Trump’s peace negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

    *Click the photo above or here to watch*
    Partial Transcript
    Hagerty on the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine: “President [Emmanuel] Macron flew here yesterday. You’re going to see [Prime Minister] Keir Starmer from the [United Kingdom] here later this week. [President Volodymyr] Zelensky is trying to get to the United States. I think we’re on the precipice of a deal, and Scott Bessent said yesterday, our Treasury Secretary, that he feels we’re on the one-yard line. So, I think we’re about to get there. President Trump wants to see an end to the carnage; he’s certainly changed the dynamic and the conversation around all of this, from [Former President] Joe Biden’s blank check, ‘as long as it takes’, to bring an end to this now, and I think it’s coming […] I think what President Trump, again, is doing is he is shifting the conversation completely. He’s trying to get to a deal with Russia. He’s not just continuing the Joe Biden process of sticking a stick in Russia’s eye. You see the European leaders that want to just continue down this path. What President Trump wants to do is bring an end to this now, and he’s trying to bring resolution to this. I think what we’re seeing is a shifting [of] sands. Again, you see these European leaders coming to the United States—again, I feel we’re at the precipice of a deal—President Trump is trying to make something happen here, not just go back to talking points that haven’t worked in the past.”
    Hagerty on Trump’s strong negotiating position against Putin: “What I would say is that President [Trump] is actually trying to shift the conversation. President Trump has not lifted any sanctions on Putin. In fact, he’s talking about getting back in the energy business, putting Keystone Pipeline back in. It was Joe Biden that killed the Keystone XL Pipeline and okayed [the] Nord Stream 2 [Pipeline], which funded Russia’s war efforts. So, I think what you’re seeing is still plenty of pressure on Vladimir Putin, but President Trump, again, is shifting the dialogue right now trying to get to a deal.”
    Hagerty on economic opportunities in a deal that could benefit the U.S.: “It’s a situation where I think President Trump is trying to think about this differently. He’s talking about economic development. He’s talking about getting our interests to align more economically. There are critical minerals in Russia, critical minerals in Ukraine. All of this could benefit the United States. China’s licking its chops right now. I think President Trump sees that as well and wants to make certain that the United States taxpayer benefits from what comes out of this, as opposed to the [Chinese Communist Party].”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Noting Ukraine’s People Have Endured Three Years of Relentless Death, Destruction, Displacement, Senior Official Tells Security Council ‘It Is High Time for Peace’

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    ‘We Cannot Have the Aggressor Impose a Deal on the Victim,’ Stresses Special Envoy

    “It is high time for peace in Ukraine,” a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as Member States echoed that call and outlined contrasting visions of ending the three-year conflict.

    “For three long years, the people of Ukraine have endured relentless death, destruction and displacement,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, adding that the resolution the Council adopted earlier on 24 February urges a swift end to the conflict.  The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified that, since 24 February 2022, at least 12,654 Ukrainian civilians — including 673 children — have been killed and 29,392 — including 1,865 children — have been injured.

    The war has created the largest displacement crisis in Europe since the Second World War, she observed, adding that over 10 million Ukrainians remain uprooted — 3.6 million displaced within Ukraine and 6.9 million seeking refuge abroad.  Furthermore, the massive destruction of civilian infrastructure impacts millions. For three consecutive winters, repeated strikes on the energy grid have left communities without power, heating or other essential services.  At least 790 attacks have damaged or destroyed medical facilities, putting the lives of countless patients at risk.  In 2024 alone, attacks on medical facilities tripled compared to 2023.  The education system has also been decimated, preventing 600,000 children from attending in-person classes.

    Over the past three years, the conflict has expanded into parts of the Russian Federation, she said, pointing to reports of increased civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions due to alleged Ukrainian attacks.  The war’s impact is also felt globally, destabilizing economies, disrupting food security and threatening international peace.  The further internationalization of the conflict is deeply alarming, particularly with the reported deployment of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea into the conflict zone.  Moreover, she cautioned that the risk of a nuclear incident remains “unacceptably high”.

    Detailing the systematic and widespread use of torture — including sexual violence — by Russian Federation authorities against Ukrainian prisoners of war, as documented by OHCHR, she said 95 per cent of them and three quarters of Ukrainian civilian detainees interviewed have suffered torture or ill-treatment in captivity. Additionally, at least 71 Ukrainian prisoners were executed since February 2022, with an alarming spike in executions since August 2024.  Meanwhile, about half of the 469 Russian Federation’s prisoners of war interviewed by OHCHR described torture and ill-treatment, and 26 of those interviewed reported having been subjected to sexual violence.  The human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has also verified the execution of 26 Russian Federation prisoners of war.  “These crimes must not go unpunished,” she asserted, underscoring that “accountability is not optional — it is an obligation under international law”.

    “We recognize it will be challenging to get an agreement, but the time for Moscow to make difficult choices and end fighting is now,” stated the representative of the United States, underscoring her country’s commitment to ending the war.  Washington, D.C., has been in close contact with Ukrainian counterparts throughout the conflict and will continue to do so.  It has also opened a direct dialogue with the Russian Federation in the past week. Following discussions in Riyadh, the United States and the Russian Federation have committed to negotiating towards an end of the conflict, which is enduring and acceptable to all engaged parties.  She called on all Member States to push for a durable peace “to bring stability to Europe and deter further aggression”.

    The Russian Federation’s delegate noted significant dissonance in European support for Ukraine, with ministers reading out “cookie-cutter statements”.  Calling the meeting an “open attempt to thwart the positive progress that has been made which will soon help result” in a lasting settlement to the Ukrainian crisis, he emphasized that the “Kyiv regime and its European sponsors are interested not in peace, but in pursuing war until the last Ukrainian”.  Welcoming the new positive policy of the Administration of United States President Donald J. Trump, he pointed to emerging details about what “took place and continues to take place under the [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy regime” despite Moscow’s persistent efforts to prevent this.

    Condemning Ukraine’s “anti-Russian project”, financed from the beginning by the West, he noted that, from 2021 to 2024, the United States Agency for International Development spent $30.6 billion in Ukraine, without which Ukrainian gross domestic product (GDP) “independently did not exist”.  He stated that up to 90 per cent of Ukrainian media outlets were financed by the Agency, with payments for public opinion leaders to appear on social networks, compelling “everybody to believe in the universal popularity of the erstwhile comic”, which “turned out to be a lie”, but was shaping Ukraine’s political landscape.  He noted that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, upon election, immediately abandoned his promises regarding the East and for the defence of the Russian language.

    Meanwhile, Mariana Betsa, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said the Council resolution just adopted “lacks the qualification” of the war as an aggression of one Member State against another.  Despite the disparity in military strength — with over 600,000 Russian Federation troops deployed on Ukraine’s territory today — Ukraine’s defence forces continue to stand firm.

    “We gave up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in the hope of making the world a safer place,” she said, citing the Budapest Memorandum as “a deal without viable security guarantees”.  Meanwhile, Moscow has significantly expanded Soviet-era stockpiles, and today, it is capable of striking Ukrainian front-line positions and residential areas, with thousands of guided aerial bombs every month.  In 2024 alone, its aviation launched 40,000 such bombs.  Moreover, the Russian Federation engaged Tehran and Pyongyang in its war of aggression.

    Nonetheless, she said the Russian Federation has failed to break Ukraine on the battlefield.  “There is nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, and there is nothing about Europe without Europe,” she asserted.  And while Ukraine wants peace “more than anyone”, that doesn’t mean just any peace, she emphasized, calling for clear security guarantees.  She added that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union are indispensable elements of regional security, and “Ukraine is eager to be part of them”.

    Many speakers highlighted the devastating and long-lasting consequences of Moscow’s aggression on food security, the environment and nuclear security, calling for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace — not an agreement imposed under duress on the victim.

    “We cannot have the aggressor impose a deal on the victim, an aggressor who continues to intensify its attacks on civilian population and infrastructure,” underscored Erica Schouten, the representative of the Netherlands and Special Envoy for Ukraine.  She called for “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” and for Europe — whose security is directly impacted — to be involved, too.  This war must end, not just for the sake of Ukraine and Europe but for the sake of the world, she stressed.

    In the same vein, France’s delegate stressed that Europe — whose security is at stake — must participate in any negotiations and affirmed that any resolution to the conflict without Ukraine will be a dead letter and “lay the groundwork for future wars”.  He recalled that the Russian Federation alone decided on 24 February 2022 to bring war back to European soil — carrying out deliberate strikes against the Ukrainian civilian population and energy infrastructure, using sexual violence as a weapon of war and forcing deportations of Ukrainian children.

    A war Russian Federation President Vladimir V. Putin said would take three days is now three years on, concurred his counterpart from the United Kingdom.  Ukraine is more than ready for the war to end, but its voice must be at the heart of any talks towards a peace that “shows aggression does not pay, and ends forever Putin’s imperialist ambitions”, she stressed.  By contrast, President Putin “only wants capitulation”.  The strength and courage shown by Ukraine must be underpinned by robust security agreements from the outset, she stated, adding that President Putin has repeatedly demonstrated that he will break a weak deal and has long denied Ukraine’s right to exist as a free State.

    Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece, affirmed that his Government’s stance on Ukraine “has been crystal clear from the very beginning of the war, which now enters its fourth year”. All Member States must work towards an end to the suffering and destruction in Ukraine; however, it is incumbent to explicitly refer to international law and the Charter of the United Nations in the resolution.  He stated it was not easy to understand why amendments proposed by European Council members were not upheld — including that the Council would employ a swift end to the conflict, urging a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

    Radosław Sikorski, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, also speaking for the High Representative of the European Union, urged Moscow to “stop the killing and leave territories it illegally occupies”. Calling on Member States to never forget the crimes committed by Russian Federation troops in Bucha, Mariupol and many other places across Ukraine, he also acknowledged the far-reaching repercussions beyond Ukraine.

    “We will never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk or any other region of Ukraine,” echoed Baiba Braže, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia, also speaking for Estonia and Lithuania.  Underlining that borders must not be altered by force, she recalled that, three years ago, the International Court of Justice ordered the Russian Federation to stop its military activities in Ukraine.  “Three years on, Ukraine has stopped a nuclear-armed State of 140 million from realizing its imperialist goals,” she added.

    Pasi Rajala, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Finland, also speaking for Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, demanded the immediate return of thousands of children who have been unlawfully deported or transferred by the Russian Federation, which violates the laws of war at every turn.  Hailing the General Assembly’s decision earlier today to support just and fair peace in Ukraine, he affirmed that Ukrainians want peace and love freedom, and the Council must advance these goals.  Any solution for lasting peace will necessitate a strong European involvement as Member States have “a collective interest to prevent a resurgence of violence and destruction”.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Greets Saudi Minister of Defense, His Royal Highness Khalid bin Salman at the Pentagon

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH: Well, welcome, your royal highness. Thank you very much for being here. It is our pleasure to welcome you to the Pentagon, although you’re no stranger to the Pentagon. I also want to welcome your delegation, including her highness, Princess Reema bint Bandar. Did I get that right? 

    REEMA BINT BANDAR: Indeed. Thank you.

    SECRETARY HEGSETH: Thank you. The kingdom’s ambassador to Washington. Glad to have you. And on behalf of President Trump, welcome. And as you know, he’s made it clear in his administration, we’re going to pursue peace through strength and put America first, but that does not mean ignoring partnerships. And in fact, it requires greater attention to the ones that matter the most, and our partnership with Saudi Arabia matters a great deal. President Trump demonstrated this when he made his first overseas phone call to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on January 23rd. He also made his first visit in his first term, as you, I know, recall in his first term.

    We’ve got tremendous opportunities to pursue security and stability in the Middle East, combat terrorism and increase mutual prosperity. Our cooperation, as you know, has been long standing. Eighty years ago, last week, our heads of state held their first historic meeting aboard the USS Quincy in the Suez Canal. And since then, we’ve worked to take on terrorism and all of its manifestations. Today, with the groups like the Houthis, build interoperability and forge multilateral approaches in many ways, through Saudi leadership.

    Today, our relationship is a critical center of gravity in a very turbulent region in the world. So I want to thank the kingdom, also, more specifically, for hosting important discussions between the United States and Russia as we pursue one of President Trump’s top priorities, which is bringing peace to the war in Ukraine. And I also want to continue deepening and strengthening our partnership to pursue security and prosperity for both Americans and Saudis. So I’m very much looking forward to a great discussion. Thank you for joining us today, you and your entire delegation. Thank you. 

    HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS KHALED BIN SALMAN: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I would like to begin with by conveying the greetings of [inaudible] and the countless [inaudible]. It’s a great pleasure to be among you today, and I look forward to continuing our joint effort to advance the long-standing relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States. As you mentioned, Mr. Secretary, we live in a turbulent region, and our relationship and our work together and cooperation is vital. It has always been vital, and it’s even more important these days to continue to coordinate and work together to make sure the region is stable and the world is stable, and we are looking forward to having a very constructive discussion today to reach our mutual rules. And I’m pretty sure that with our strong relationship, we will achieve a lot together.

    SECRETARY HEGSETH: Absolutely. I know you feel comfortable here too. I know you’re a fighter pilot. Got some pilots here too. So, I appreciate that. We have a couple questions today.

    Q: Mr. Secretary, why did you select an underqualified retired lieutenant general to be the next chairman of joint chief of staff, given that–

    SECRETARY HEGSETH: I’m going to choose to reject your unqualified question.

    Q: How did the three JAGs that you say you’re replacing present roadblocks, as you said, to what the president is wanting to do? 

    SECRETARY HEGSETH: It’s not about roadblocks to an agenda. It’s roadblocks to orders that are given by a commander in chief. So ultimately, I want the best possible lawyers in each service to provide the best possible recommendations, no matter what, to lawful orders that are given. And we didn’t think those particular positions were well-suited, and so we’re looking for the best. We’re opening it up to everybody to be able to be the top lawyer of those services. 

    UNKNOWN: Two more questions. 

    Q: Mr. Secretary, will the U.S. help defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by Iran and its proxies? 

    SECRETARY HEGSETH: Well, certainly that’s a topic we’re going to talk about today. Iran is a big concern in the region. Saudi Arabia has been a great partner, and that’s something we’re going to discuss today. 

    UNKNOWN: Last question.

    SECRETARY HEGSETH: No more questions. All right. There we go.

    UNKNOWN: Great. Thank you. 

    UNKNOWN: Thank you. We’re leaving now.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Joins Bipartisan Resolution Supporting Ukraine as Conflict Enters its Third Year

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    Download audio here
    WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and bipartisan Senate colleagues to introduce a resolution acknowledging the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
    The resolution expresses the Senate’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and condemns Russia’s illegal aggression and attempts to seize Ukrainian territory. It also commends NATO, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and the international community for their continued efforts to support Ukraine’s defense and the protection of human rights on its territory.
    “Putin’s inhumane and unprovoked attack on Ukraine started the largest war in Europe since World War II. He has kidnapped children to brainwash them, and he has tortured and killed civilians. As we commemorate three years since Russia’s brutal invasion, Americans stand with the Ukrainian people in the pursuit of peace and an end to the bloodshed,” Grassley said.
    Additional cosponsors are Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Il.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
    Find resolution text HERE.
    Click HERE to download audio of Grassley discussing the resolution.
    Background:
    Grassley is an outspoken critic of Russia’s threats and aggression. In a speech on the Senate floor yesterday marking the third anniversary of the invasion, Grassley reaffirmed his support for the people of Ukraine.
    After Putin’s 2022 invasion, Grassley immediately condemned Russia’s assault on Ukraine, calling it “inhumane” and pointing out that Putin is tragically “killing innocent people like Stalin did in the 1930s.”
    Grassley spoke on the Senate floor to call for victory in Ukraine noting, “Anything short of a Ukrainian victory is an invitation for future Russian aggression.”
    After Russia began indiscriminately bombing Ukraine and murdering innocent civilians, Grassley joined his colleagues in introducing a resolution to hold Putin and his allies accountable for war crimes. This resolution passed the Senate unanimously.
    Read more about Grassley’s efforts to support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable HERE.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Par Pacific Reports Fourth Quarter and 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, Feb. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR) (“Par Pacific” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2024.

    • Fourth quarter Net Loss of $(55.7) million, or $(1.01) per diluted share; Adjusted Net Loss of $(43.4) million, or $(0.79) per diluted share; Adjusted EBITDA of $10.9 million
    • Full year net loss of $(33.3) million, or $(0.59) per diluted share; Adjusted Net Income of $21.2 million, or $0.37 per diluted share; Adjusted EBITDA of $238.7 million
    • Record annual Retail and Logistics segment Adjusted EBITDA
    • Repurchased 5 million common shares during 2024, or 9% of year end shares outstanding

    Par Pacific reported a net loss of $(33.3) million, or $(0.59) per diluted share, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to net income of $728.6 million, or $11.94 per diluted share, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Net Income for 2024 was $21.2 million, compared to $501.2 million for 2023. 2024 Adjusted EBITDA was $238.7 million, compared to $696.2 million for 2023.

    Par Pacific reported a net loss of $(55.7) million, or $(1.01) per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to net income of $289.3 million, or $4.77 per diluted share, for the same quarter in 2023. Fourth quarter 2024 Adjusted Net Loss was $(43.4) million, compared to Adjusted Net Income of $65.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Fourth quarter 2024 Adjusted EBITDA was $10.9 million, compared to $122.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. A reconciliation of reported non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the tables accompanying this news release.

    “Our 2024 results underscore our strategic diversification with strong contribution from Hawaii Refining and record profitability in our Retail and Logistics segments,” said Will Monteleone, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Completing the Montana turnaround prior to the summer driving season and starting up our capital efficient Hawaii Sustainable Aviation Fuel project position us for earnings growth.”

    Refining

    The Refining segment generated operating income of $17.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $676.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Refining segment in the year ended December 31, 2024 was $618.3 million, compared to $995.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2023.

    Refining segment Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $139.2 million, compared to $621.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

    The Refining segment reported an operating loss of $(65.4) million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to operating income of $174.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Refining segment was $92.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $227.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Refining segment Adjusted EBITDA was $(22.3) million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $106.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Hawaii
    The Hawaii Index averaged $5.52 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $12.48 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023. Throughput in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 83 thousand barrels per day (Mbpd), compared to 81 Mbpd for the same quarter in 2023. Production costs were $4.42 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $4.80 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

    The Hawaii refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $7.36 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, including a net price lag impact of approximately $(5.4) million, or $(0.71) per barrel, compared to $16.73 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Montana
    The Montana Index averaged $5.75 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $14.80 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Montana refinery’s throughput in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 52 Mbpd, compared to 50 Mbpd for the same quarter in 2023. Production costs were $10.48 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $12.03 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

    The Montana refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $3.70 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $11.55 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Washington
    The Washington Index averaged $(0.62) per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $5.23 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Washington refinery’s throughput was 39 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 38 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2023. Production costs were $4.34 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $4.53 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

    The Washington refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $1.05 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $7.87 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Wyoming

    The Wyoming Index averaged $13.36 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $16.58 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Wyoming refinery’s throughput was 14 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 17 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2023. Production costs were $11.49 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $8.03 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

    The Wyoming refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $11.11 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, including a FIFO impact of approximately $(2.2) million, or $(1.75) per barrel, compared to $13.90 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Wyoming Refining Operational Update

    The Wyoming refinery experienced an operational incident on the evening of February 12, 2025, and has remained safely idled through the extreme winter weather conditions. We expect to restart the refinery in mid-April at reduced throughput and return to full operations by the end of May.

    Retail

    The Retail segment reported operating income of $64.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $56.6 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Retail segment was $164.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $155.3 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

    For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, Retail Adjusted EBITDA was $76.0 million, compared to $68.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the Retail segment reported fuel sales volumes of 121.5 million gallons, compared to 117.6 million gallons for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. 2024 same store fuel volumes and inside sales revenue increased by 2.2% and 4.6%, respectively, compared to 2023.

    The Retail segment reported operating income of $19.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $14.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Retail segment was $43.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $40.5 million in the same quarter of 2023.

    Retail segment Adjusted EBITDA was $22.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $17.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Retail segment reported sales volumes of 30.3 million gallons in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 29.8 million gallons in the same quarter of 2023. Fourth quarter 2024 same store fuel volumes and inside sales revenue increased by 2.1% and 6.2%, respectively, compared to fourth quarter of 2023.

    Logistics

    The Logistics segment generated operating income of $89.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $69.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Logistics segment was $135.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $121.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

    Adjusted EBITDA for the Logistics segment was $120.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $96.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

    The Logistics segment reported operating income of $24.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Logistics segment was $36.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $35.3 million in the same quarter of 2023.

    Logistics segment Adjusted EBITDA was $33.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $24.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Liquidity

    Net cash provided by operations totaled $83.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, including working capital outflows of $(18.1) million and deferred turnaround expenditures of $(73.5) million. Excluding these items, net cash provided by operations totaled $175.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024. Net cash provided by operations totaled $579.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

    Net cash used in operations totaled $(15.5) million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, including working capital inflows of $19.9 million and deferred turnaround expenditures of $(15.7) million. Excluding these items, net cash used in operations totaled $(19.6) million for the three months ended December 31, 2024. Net cash used in operations totaled $(2.3) million for the three months ended December 31, 2023.

    Net cash used in investing activities totaled $(47.7) million and $(134.0) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, compared to $(27.3) million and $(659.0) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively. Net cash used in investing activities for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, includes $(47.7) million and $(135.5) million in capital expenditures, respectively.

    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities totaled $72.1 million and $(37.0) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, compared to net cash used in financing activities of $(56.6) million and $(135.6) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively.

    At December 31, 2024, Par Pacific’s cash balance totaled $191.9 million, gross term debt was $644.2 million, and total liquidity was $613.7 million. Net term debt was $452.3 million at December 31, 2024. In February 2025, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized management to repurchase up to $250 million of common stock, with no specified end date. This replaces the prior authorization to repurchase up to $250 million of common stock.

    Laramie Energy

    In conjunction with Laramie Energy LLC’s (“Laramie’s”) refinancing and subsequent cash distribution to Par Pacific during the first quarter of 2023, we resumed the application of equity method accounting for our investment in Laramie effective February 21, 2023.

    During the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, we recorded $(3.2) million and $(0.3) million of equity losses. Laramie’s total net loss was $(11.3) million in the fourth quarter of 2024, including unrealized losses on derivatives of $(5.2) million, compared to net income of $42.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Laramie’s total net loss was $(15.5) million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, including unrealized losses on derivatives of $(3.6) million, compared to net income of $96.6 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

    Laramie’s total Adjusted EBITDAX was $11.0 million and $45.8 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, compared to $19.6 million and $89.7 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively.

    Laramie’s balance sheet position is strong with $68.6 million of cash and $160.0 million of debt at December 31, 2024. Laramie’s 2024 production was 96.6 million cubic feet of gas equivalent per day (MMcfe/d) and its management team plans to run a one-rig program throughout 2025. Approximately 79% of Laramie’s 2025 production is hedged at $3.20 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu).

    Conference Call Information

    A conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Time). To access the call, please dial 1-833-974-2377 inside the U.S. or 1-412-317-5782 outside of the U.S. and ask for the Par Pacific call. Please dial in at least 10 minutes early to register. The webcast may be accessed online through the Company’s website at http://www.parpacific.com on the Investors page. A telephone replay will be available until March 12, 2025, and may be accessed by calling 1-877-344-7529 inside the U.S. or 1-412-317-0088 outside the U.S. and using the conference ID 2219355.

    About Par Pacific

    Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a growing energy company providing both renewable and conventional fuels to the western United States. Par Pacific owns and operates 219,000 bpd of combined refining capacity across four locations in Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, and an extensive energy infrastructure network, including 13 million barrels of storage, and marine, rail, rack, and pipeline assets. In addition, Par Pacific operates the Hele retail brand in Hawaii and the “nomnom” convenience store chain in the Pacific Northwest. Par Pacific also owns 46% of Laramie Energy, LLC, a natural gas production company with operations and assets concentrated in Western Colorado. More information is available at www.parpacific.com. 

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release (and oral statements regarding the subject matter of this news release, including those made on the conference call and webcast announced herein) includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to qualify for the “safe harbor” from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about: expected market conditions; anticipated free cash flows; anticipated refinery throughput; anticipated cost savings; anticipated capital expenditures, including major maintenance costs, and their effect on our financial and operating results, including earnings per share and free cash flow; anticipated retail sales volumes and on-island sales; the anticipated financial and operational results of Laramie Energy, LLC; the amount of our discounted net cash flows and the impact of our NOL carryforwards thereon; our ability to identify, acquire, and develop energy, related retailing, and infrastructure businesses; the timing and expected results of certain development projects, as well as the impact of such investments on our product mix and sales; the anticipated synergies and other benefits of the Billings refinery and associated marketing and logistics assets (“Billings Acquisition”), including renewable growth opportunities, the anticipated financial and operating results of the Billings Acquisition and the effect on Par Pacific’s cash flows and profitability (including Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income and Free Cash Flow per share); and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends, and uncertainties, such as changes to our financial condition and liquidity; the volatility of crude oil and refined product prices; the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Palestine conflict, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iranian activities in the Strait of Hormuz and their potential impacts on global crude oil markets and our business; operating disruptions at our refineries resulting from unplanned maintenance events or natural disasters; environmental risks; changes in the labor market; and risks of political or regulatory changes. We cannot provide assurances that the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Should any of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of this date. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. We further expressly disclaim any written or oral statements made by a third party regarding the subject matter of this news release.

    Contact:
    Ashimi Patel
    VP, Investor Relations & Sustainability
    (832) 916-3355
    apatel@parpacific.com

    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (Unaudited)
    (in thousands, except per share data)

      Three Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Revenues $ 1,832,221     $ 2,183,511     $ 7,974,457     $ 8,231,955  
    Operating expenses              
    Cost of revenues (excluding depreciation)   1,678,273       1,799,898       7,101,148       6,838,109  
    Operating expense (excluding depreciation)   139,893       155,441       584,282       485,587  
    Depreciation and amortization   34,911       31,943       131,590       119,830  
    General and administrative expense (excluding depreciation)   21,522       25,299       108,844       91,447  
    Equity losses (earnings) from refining and logistics investments   941       (7,485 )     (11,905 )     (11,844 )
    Acquisition and integration costs   32       269       100       17,482  
    Par West redevelopment and other costs   3,500       2,907       12,548       11,397  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   108       (59 )     222       (59 )
    Total operating expenses   1,879,180       2,008,213       7,926,829       7,551,949  
    Operating income (loss)   (46,959 )     175,298       47,628       680,006  
    Other income (expense)              
    Interest expense and financing costs, net   (21,073 )     (20,476 )     (82,793 )     (72,450 )
    Debt extinguishment and commitment costs   (270 )     (1,500 )     (1,688 )     (19,182 )
    Other loss, net   (422 )     (354 )     (1,869 )     (53 )
    Equity earnings (losses) from Laramie Energy, LLC   (3,163 )     14,279       (296 )     24,985  
    Total other expense, net   (24,928 )     (8,051 )     (86,646 )     (66,700 )
    Income (loss) before income taxes   (71,887 )     167,247       (39,018 )     613,306  
    Income tax benefit (expense)   16,192       122,077       5,696       115,336  
    Net income (loss) $ (55,695 )   $ 289,324     $ (33,322 )   $ 728,642  
    Weighted-average shares outstanding              
    Basic   55,252       59,403       56,775       60,035  
    Diluted   55,252       60,609       56,775       61,014  
                   
    Income (loss) per share              
    Basic $ (1.01 )   $ 4.87     $ (0.59 )   $ 12.14  
    Diluted $ (1.01 )   $ 4.77     $ (0.59 )   $ 11.94  
                                   

    Balance Sheet Data
    (Unaudited)
    (in thousands)

      December 31, 2024   December 31, 2023
    Balance Sheet Data      
    Cash and cash equivalents $         191,921           $         279,107        
    Working capital (1)           488,940                     190,042        
    ABL Credit Facility           483,000                     115,000        
    Term debt (2)           644,233                     550,621        
    Total debt, including current portion           1,112,967                     650,858        
    Total stockholders’ equity           1,191,302                     1,335,424        
               

    _______________________________________

    (1) Working capital is calculated as (i) total current assets excluding cash and cash equivalents less (ii) total current liabilities excluding current portion of long-term debt. Total current assets include inventories stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value.
    (2) Term debt includes the Term Loan Credit Agreement and other long-term debt.
       

    Operating Statistics

    The following table summarizes key operational data:

      Three Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Total Refining Segment              
    Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd) (1)   187.8       186.0       186.7       170.3  
    Refined product sales volume (Mbpd) (1)   199.4       194.4       199.9       183.1  
                   
    Hawaii Refinery              
    Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)   83.3       80.6       81.1       80.8  
                   
    Yield (% of total throughput)              
    Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks   27.0 %     25.2 %     26.2 %     26.3 %
    Distillates   41.1 %     39.3 %     38.9 %     40.4 %
    Fuel oils   29.2 %     31.8 %     31.3 %     28.9 %
    Other products (0.2)%   (0.2)%     0.2 %     1.1 %
    Total yield   97.1 %     96.1 %     96.6 %     96.7 %
                   
    Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)   93.7       89.0       89.3       89.1  
                   
    Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2) $ 7.36     $ 16.73     $ 9.34     $ 15.25  
    Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)   4.42       4.80       4.58       4.57  
    D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)   0.32       0.54       0.43       0.65  
                   
    Montana Refinery              
    Feedstocks Throughput (Mbpd) (1)   51.9       49.8       49.9       54.4  
                   
    Yield (% of total throughput)              
    Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks   43.9 %     45.1 %     48.0 %     48.1 %
    Distillates   32.7 %     38.8 %     31.9 %     32.0 %
    Asphalt   15.2 %     8.7 %     10.9 %     12.1 %
    Other products   2.7 %     2.5 %     3.9 %     3.2 %
    Total yield   94.5 %     95.1 %     94.7 %     95.4 %
                   
    Refined product sales volume (Mbpd) (1)   52.9       51.5       53.2       58.6  
                   
    Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2) $ 3.70     $ 11.55     $ 11.37     $ 21.14  
    Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)   10.48       12.03       12.42       10.78  
    D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)   2.26       1.10       1.83       1.45  
                   
      Three Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Washington Refinery              
    Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)   39.0       38.4       38.2       40.0  
                   
    Yield (% of total throughput)              
    Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks   23.6 %     23.8 %     23.9 %     23.5 %
    Distillate   34.6 %     34.1 %     34.5 %     34.5 %
    Asphalt   19.4 %     20.6 %     18.8 %     19.7 %
    Other products   19.3 %     18.6 %     19.3 %     18.7 %
    Total yield   96.9 %     97.1 %     96.5 %     96.4 %
                   
    Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)   37.9       37.0       39.2       41.7  
                   
    Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2) $ 1.05     $ 7.87     $ 3.25     $ 9.41  
    Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)   4.34       4.53       4.28       4.12  
    D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)   1.91       2.22       1.97       1.91  
                   
    Wyoming Refinery              
    Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)   13.6       17.2       17.5       17.6  
                   
    Yield (% of total throughput)              
    Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks   51.5 %     50.3 %     46.9 %     47.1 %
    Distillate   43.1 %     45.0 %     47.1 %     46.7 %
    Fuel oils   1.7 %     2.3 %     2.4 %     2.5 %
    Other products   1.7 %     1.0 %     2.1 %     1.5 %
    Total yield   98.0 %     98.6 %     98.5 %     97.8 %
                   
    Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)   14.9       16.9       18.2       17.9  
                   
    Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2) $ 11.11     $ 13.90     $ 13.73     $ 25.15  
    Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)   11.49       8.03       8.10       7.50  
    D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)   3.55       2.71       2.71       2.69  
                   
                   
    Par Pacific Indices ($ per barrel)              
    Hawaii Index (4) $ 5.52     $ 12.48     $ 7.21     $ 13.06  
    Montana Index (5)   5.75       14.80       14.39       23.71  
    Washington Index (6)   (0.62 )     5.23       4.13       9.81  
    Wyoming Index (7)   13.36       16.58       16.47       24.48  
                   
    Market Cracks ($ per barrel)              
    Singapore 3.1.2 Product Crack (4) $ 11.69     $ 19.44     $ 13.36     $ 19.50  
    Montana 6.3.2.1 Product Crack (5)   15.31       23.56       21.59       30.15  
    Washington 3.1.1.1 Product Crack (6)   8.29       10.83       12.11       17.91  
    Wyoming 2.1.1 Product Crack (7)   16.00       18.70       18.48       27.52  
                   
    Crude Oil Prices ($ per barrel) (8)              
    Brent $ 74.01     $ 82.85     $ 79.86     $ 82.17  
    WTI   70.32       78.53       75.76       77.60  
    ANS (-) Brent   1.00       2.21       1.55       0.95  
    Bakken Guernsey (-) WTI   (1.22 )     (2.20 )     (1.26 )     (0.65 )
    Bakken Williston (-) WTI   (2.54 )     (2.50 )     (2.45 )     (0.09 )
    WCS Hardisty (-) WTI   (12.27 )     (22.78 )     (13.90 )     (17.92 )
    MSW (-) WTI   (3.68 )     (7.34 )     (4.03 )     (3.70 )
    Syncrude (-) WTI   (0.42 )     (4.12 )     0.18       1.32  
    Brent M1-M3   0.74       1.01       1.10       0.81  
                   
    Retail Segment              
    Retail sales volumes (thousands of gallons)   30,287       29,840       121,473       117,550  

    _______________________________________

    (1) Feedstocks throughput and sales volumes per day for the Montana refinery for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 are calculated based on the 92 and 214-day periods for which we owned the Montana refinery during the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. As such, the amounts for the total refining segment represent the sum of the Hawaii, Washington, and Wyoming refineries’ throughput or sales volumes averaged over the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 plus the Montana refinery’s throughput or sales volumes averaged over the periods from October 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023 and June 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, respectively. The 2024 amounts for the total refining segment represent the sum of the Hawaii, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming refineries’ throughput or sales volumes averaged over the three months and year ended December 31, 2024.
    (2) We calculate Adjusted Gross Margin per barrel by dividing Adjusted Gross Margin by total refining throughput. Adjusted Gross Margin for our Washington refinery is determined under the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) inventory costing method. Adjusted Gross Margin for our other refineries is determined under the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) inventory costing method.
    (3) Management uses production costs per barrel to evaluate performance and compare efficiency to other companies in the industry. There are a variety of ways to calculate production costs per barrel; different companies within the industry calculate it in different ways. We calculate production costs per barrel by dividing all direct production costs, which include the costs to run the refineries, including personnel costs, repair and maintenance costs, insurance, utilities, and other miscellaneous costs, by total refining throughput. Our production costs are included in Operating expense (excluding depreciation) on our condensed consolidated statements of operations, which also includes costs related to our bulk marketing operations and severance costs.
    (4) Beginning in 2025, we established the Hawaii Index as a new benchmark for our Hawaii operations. We believe the Hawaii Index, which incorporates market cracks and landed crude differentials, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Hawaii refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. The Hawaii Index is calculated as the Singapore 3.1.2 Product Crack, or one part gasoline (RON 92) and two parts distillates (Sing Jet & Sing gasoil) as created from a barrel of Brent crude oil, less the Par Hawaii Refining, LLC (“PHR”) crude differential.
    (5) Beginning in 2025, we established the Montana Index as a new benchmark for our Montana refinery. We believe the Montana Index, which incorporates local market cracks, regional crude oil prices, and management’s estimates for other costs of sales, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Montana refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. Beginning in 2025, market cracks have been updated to reflect local market product pricing, which better reflects our Montana refinery’s refined product sales price compared to prior reported market indices. The Montana Index is calculated as the Montana 6.3.2.1 Product Crack less Montana crude costs, less other costs of sales, including inflation-adjusted product delivery costs, yield loss expense, taxes and tariffs, and product discounts. The Montana 6.3.2.1 Product Crack is calculated by taking three parts gasoline (Billings E10 and Spokane E10), two parts distillate (Billings ULSD and Spokane ULSD), and one part asphalt (Rocky Mountain Rail Asphalt) as created from a barrel of WTI crude oil, less 100% of the RVO cost for gasoline and ULSD. Asphalt pricing is lagged by one month. The Montana crude cost is calculated as 60% WCS differential to WTI, 20% MSW differential to WTI, and 20% Syncrude differential to WTI. The Montana crude cost is lagged by three months and includes an inflation-adjusted crude delivery cost. Other costs of sales and crude delivery costs are based on historical averages and management’s estimates.
    (6) Beginning in 2025, we established the Washington Index as a new benchmark for our Washington refinery. We believe the Washington Index, which incorporates local market cracks, regional crude oil prices, and management’s estimates for other costs of sales, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Washington refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. Beginning in 2025, market cracks have been updated to reflect local market product pricing, which better reflects our Washington refinery’s refined product sales price compared to prior reported market indices. The Washington Index is calculated as the Washington 3.1.1.1 Product Crack, less Washington crude costs, less other costs of sales, including inflation-adjusted product delivery costs, yield loss expense and state and local taxes. The Washington 3.1.1.1 Product Crack is calculated by taking one part gasoline (Tacoma E10), one part distillate (Tacoma ULSD) and one part secondary products (USGC VGO and Rocky Mountain Rail Asphalt) as created from a barrel of WTI crude oil, less 100% of the RVO cost for gasoline and ULSD. Asphalt pricing is lagged by one month. The Washington crude cost is calculated as 67% Bakken Williston differential to WTI and 33% WCS Hardisty differential to WTI. The Washington crude cost is lagged by one month and includes an inflation-adjusted crude delivery cost. Other costs of sales and crude delivery costs are based on historical averages and management’s estimates.
    (7) Beginning in 2025, we established the Wyoming Index as a new benchmark for our Wyoming refinery. We believe the Wyoming Index, which incorporates local market cracks, regional crude oil prices, and management’s estimates for other costs of sales, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Wyoming refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. Beginning in 2025, market cracks have also been updated to reflect local market product pricing, which better reflects our Wyoming refinery’s refined product sales price compared to prior reported market indices. The Wyoming Index is calculated as the Wyoming 2.1.1 Product Crack, less Wyoming crude costs, less other cost of sales, including inflation adjusted product delivery costs and yield loss expense, based on historical averages and management’s estimates. The Wyoming 2.1.1 Product Crack is calculated by taking one part gasoline (Rockies gasoline) and one part distillate (USGC ULSD and USGC Jet) as created from a barrel of WTI crude oil, less 100% of the RVO cost for gasoline and ULSD. The Wyoming crude cost is calculated as the Bakken Guernsey differential to WTI on a one-month lag.
    (8) Beginning in 2025, crude oil prices have been updated and expanded to reflect regional differentials to Brent and WTI, which better reflect our refineries’ feedstock costs compared to prior crude oil pricing.
       

    Non-GAAP Performance Measures

    Management uses certain financial measures to evaluate our operating performance that are considered non-GAAP financial measures. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes or alternatives to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies since each company may define these terms differently.

    We believe Adjusted Gross Margin (as defined below) provides useful information to investors because it eliminates the gross impact of volatile commodity prices and adjusts for certain non-cash items and timing differences created by our inventory financing agreements and lower of cost and net realizable value adjustments to demonstrate the earnings potential of the business before other fixed and variable costs, which are reported separately in Operating expense (excluding depreciation) and Depreciation and amortization. Management uses Adjusted Gross Margin per barrel to evaluate operating performance and compare profitability to other companies in the industry and to industry benchmarks. We believe Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) are useful supplemental financial measures that allow investors to assess the financial performance of our assets without regard to financing methods, capital structure, or historical cost basis, the ability of our assets to generate cash to pay interest on our indebtedness, and our operating performance and return on invested capital as compared to other companies without regard to financing methods and capital structure. We believe Adjusted EBITDA by segment (as defined below) is a useful supplemental financial measure to evaluate the economic performance of our segments without regard to financing methods, capital structure, or historical cost basis.

    Beginning with financial results reported for the second quarter of 2023, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss), and Adjusted EBITDA also exclude our portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from our refining and logistics investments acquired on June 1, 2023, as part of the Billings Acquisition.

    Beginning with financial results reported for the fourth quarter of 2023, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss), and Adjusted EBITDA excludes all hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and LIFO layer increment impacts associated with our Washington inventory. In addition, we have modified our environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustment to include only the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington Climate Commitment Act (“Washington CCA”) and Clean Fuel Standard. This modification was made as part of our change in how we estimate our environmental obligation liabilities.

    Beginning with financial results reported for the fourth quarter of 2023, Adjusted Net Income (loss) excludes unrealized interest rate derivative losses (gains) and all Laramie Energy related impacts with the exception of cash distributions. We have recast Adjusted Net Income (Loss) for prior periods when reported to conform to the modified presentation.

    Beginning with financial results reported for the first quarter of 2024, Adjusted Net Income (loss) also excludes other non-operating income and expenses. This modification improves comparability between periods by excluding income and expenses resulting from non-operating activities.

    Effective as of the fourth quarter of 2024, we have modified our definition of Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to align the accounting treatment for deferred turnaround costs from our refining and logistics investments with our accounting policy. Under this approach, we exclude our share of their turnaround expenses, which are recorded as period costs in their financial statements, and instead defer and amortize these costs on a straight-line basis over the period estimated until the next planned turnaround. This modification enhances consistency and comparability across reporting periods.

    Adjusted Gross Margin

    Adjusted Gross Margin is defined as Operating income (loss) excluding:

    •   operating expense (excluding depreciation);
    •   depreciation and amortization (“D&A”);
    •   Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and D&A expense from refining and logistics investments;
    •   impairment expense;
    •   loss (gain) on sale of assets, net;
    •   Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments;
    •   inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
    •   Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard); and
    •   unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives.
         

    The following tables present a reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Margin to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, operating income (loss), on a historical basis, for selected segments, for the periods indicated (in thousands):

    Three months ended December 31, 2024 Refining   Logistics   Retail
    Operating income (loss) $ (65,399 )   $ 24,772   $ 19,477
    Operating expense (excluding depreciation)   114,706       3,829     21,358
    Depreciation and amortization   24,524       7,140     2,566
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   456       1,101     —
    Inventory valuation adjustment   5,929       —     —
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (937 )     —     —
    Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives   9,220       —     —
    Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments   3,856       —     —
    Loss on sale of assets, net   8       —     —
    Adjusted Gross Margin (1) $ 92,363     $ 36,842   $ 43,401
                       
    Three months ended December 31, 2023 Refining   Logistics   Retail
    Operating income $ 174,038     $ 15,709   $ 14,594  
    Operating expense (excluding depreciation)   120,810       11,272     23,359  
    Depreciation and amortization   21,190       7,321     2,885  
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   765       952     —  
    Inventory valuation adjustment   (24,089 )     —     —  
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (15,672 )     —     —  
    Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives   (50,024 )     —     —  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   219       —     (308 )
    Adjusted Gross Margin (1) (2) $ 227,237     $ 35,254   $ 40,530  
                         
    Year Ended December 31, 2024 Refining   Logistics   Retail
    Operating income $ 17,412     $ 89,351   $ 64,800  
    Operating expense (excluding depreciation)   479,737       15,676     88,869  
    Depreciation and amortization   91,108       27,033     11,037  
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   2,493       3,651     —  
    Inventory valuation adjustment   (490 )     —     —  
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (19,136 )     —     —  
    Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives   43,281       —     —  
    Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments   3,856       —     —  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   8       124     (10 )
    Adjusted Gross Margin (1) $ 618,269     $ 135,835   $ 164,696  
                         
    Year Ended December 31, 2023 Refining   Logistics   Retail
    Operating income $ 676,161     $ 69,744   $ 56,603  
    Operating expense (excluding depreciation)   373,612       24,450     87,525  
    Depreciation and amortization   81,017       25,122     11,462  
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   1,586       1,857     —  
    Inventory valuation adjustment   102,710       —     —  
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (189,783 )     —     —  
    Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives   (50,511 )     —     —  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   219       —     (308 )
    Adjusted Gross Margin (1) (2) $ 995,011     $ 121,173   $ 155,282  

    _______________________________________

    (1) For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no impairment expense in Operating income.
    (2) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, there was no impact in Operating income from accounting policy differences at our refining and logistics investments.
       

    Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA

    Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is defined as Net income (loss) excluding:

    •   inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
    •   Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard);
    •   unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives;
    •   acquisition and integration costs;
    •   redevelopment and other costs related to Par West;
    •   debt extinguishment and commitment costs;
    •   increase in (release of) tax valuation allowance and other deferred tax items;
    •   changes in the value of contingent consideration and common stock warrants;
    •   severance costs and other non-operating expense (income);
    •   (gain) loss on sale of assets;
    •   impairment expense;
    •   impairment expense associated with our investment in Laramie Energy;
    •   Par’s share of equity (earnings) losses from Laramie Energy, LLC, excluding cash distributions; and
    •   Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments.

    Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted Net Income (Loss) excluding:

    •   D&A;
    •   interest expense and financing costs, net, excluding unrealized interest rate derivative loss (gain);
    •   cash distributions from Laramie Energy, LLC to Par;
    •   Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and D&A expense from refining and logistics investments; and
    •   income tax expense (benefit) excluding the increase in (release of) tax valuation allowance.
         

    The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income (loss), on a historical basis for the periods indicated (in thousands):        

      Three Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net income (loss) $ (55,695 )   $ 289,324     $ (33,322 )   $ 728,642  
    Inventory valuation adjustment   5,929       (24,089 )     (490 )     102,710  
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (937 )     (15,672 )     (19,136 )     (189,783 )
    Unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives   8,729       (48,539 )     42,485       (49,690 )
    Acquisition and integration costs   32       269       100       17,482  
    Par West redevelopment and other costs   3,500       2,907       12,548       11,397  
    Debt extinguishment and commitment costs   270       1,500       1,688       19,182  
    Changes in valuation allowance and other deferred tax items (1)   (12,553 )     (126,219 )     (3,315 )     (126,219 )
    Severance costs and other non-operating expense (2)   154       100       14,802       1,785  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   108       (59 )     222       (59 )
    Equity (earnings) losses from Laramie Energy, LLC, excluding cash distributions   3,163       (14,279 )     1,781       (14,279 )
    Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments   3,856       —       3,856       —  
    Adjusted Net Income (Loss) (3) (4)   (43,444 )     65,243       21,219       501,168  
    Depreciation and amortization   34,911       31,943       131,590       119,830  
    Interest expense and financing costs, net, excluding unrealized interest rate derivative loss (gain)   21,564       18,991       83,589       71,629  
    Laramie Energy, LLC cash distributions to Par   —       —       (1,485 )     (10,706 )
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   1,557       1,717       6,144       3,443  
    Income tax expense (benefit)   (3,639 )     4,142       (2,381 )     10,883  
    Adjusted EBITDA (3) $ 10,949     $ 122,036     $ 238,676     $ 696,247  

    _______________________________________

    (1) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized a non-cash deferred tax benefit of $12.6 million and $3.3 million, respectively. This tax benefit is included in Income tax expense (benefit) on our consolidated statements of operations. For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a non-cash deferred tax benefit of $126.2 million primarily related to the release of a majority of the valuation allowance against our federal net deferred tax assets.
    (2) For the year ended December 31, 2024, we incurred $13.1 million of stock-based compensation expenses associated with accelerated vesting of equity awards and modification of vested equity awards related to our CEO transition and $0.8 million for a legal settlement unrelated to current operating activities.
    (3) For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no change in value of contingent consideration, change in value of common stock warrants, impairment expense, impairments associated with our investment in Laramie Energy, or our share of Laramie Energy’s asset impairment losses in excess of our basis difference. Please read the Non-GAAP Performance Measures discussion above for information regarding changes to the components of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA made during the reporting periods.
    (4) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, there was no impact in Operating income from accounting policy differences at our refining and logistics investments.
       

     

    The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per share (in thousands, except per share amounts):

      Three Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31,
        2024       2023     2024     2023
    Adjusted Net Income (Loss) $ (43,444 )   $ 65,243   $ 21,219   $ 501,168
    Plus: effect of convertible securities   —       —     —     —
    Numerator for diluted income (loss) per common share $ (43,444 )   $ 65,243   $ 21,219   $ 501,168
                   
    Basic weighted-average common stock shares outstanding   55,252       59,403     56,775     60,035
    Add dilutive effects of common stock equivalents (1)   —       1,206     657     979
    Diluted weighted-average common stock shares outstanding   55,252       60,609     57,432     61,014
                   
    Basic Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per common share $ (0.79 )   $ 1.10   $ 0.37   $ 8.35
    Diluted Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per common share $ (0.79 )   $ 1.08   $ 0.37   $ 8.21

    _______________________________________

    (1) Entities with a net loss from continuing operations are prohibited from including potential common shares in the computation of diluted per share amounts. We have utilized the basic shares outstanding to calculate both basic and diluted Adjusted Net Loss per common share for the three months ended December 31, 2024.
       

    Adjusted EBITDA by Segment

    Adjusted EBITDA by segment is defined as Operating income (loss) excluding:

    •   D&A;
    •   inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
    •   Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard);
    •   unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives;
    •   acquisition and integration costs;
    •   redevelopment and other costs related to Par West;
    •   severance costs and other non-operating expense (income);
    •   (gain) loss on sale of assets;
    •   impairment expense;
    •   Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and D&A expense from refining and logistics investments; and
    •   Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments.
         

    Adjusted EBITDA by segment also includes Gain on curtailment of pension obligation and Other income (loss), net, which are presented below operating income (loss) on our condensed consolidated statements of operations.

    The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA by segment to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, operating income (loss) by segment, on a historical basis, for selected segments, for the periods indicated (in thousands):

      Three Months Ended December 31, 2024
      Refining   Logistics   Retail   Corporate and Other
    Operating income (loss) by segment $ (65,399 )   $ 24,772   $ 19,477   $ (25,809 )
    Depreciation and amortization   24,524       7,140     2,566     681  
    Inventory valuation adjustment   5,929       —     —     —  
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (937 )     —     —     —  
    Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives   9,220       —     —     —  
    Acquisition and integration costs   —       —     —     32  
    Par West redevelopment and other costs   —       —     —     3,500  
    Severance costs and other non-operating expense   —       —     154     —  
    Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments   3,856       —     —     —  
    Loss on sale of assets, net   8       —     —     100  
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   456       1,101     —     —  
    Other loss, net   —       —     —     (422 )
    Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ (22,343 )   $ 33,013   $ 22,197   $ (21,918 )
                               
      Three Months Ended December 31, 2023
      Refining   Logistics   Retail   Corporate and Other
    Operating income (loss) by segment $ 174,038     $ 15,709   $ 14,594     $ (29,043 )
    Depreciation and amortization   21,190       7,321     2,885       547  
    Inventory valuation adjustment   (24,089 )     —     —       —  
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (15,672 )     —     —       —  
    Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives   (50,024 )     —     —       —  
    Acquisition and integration costs   —       —     —       269  
    Par West redevelopment and other costs   —       —     —       2,907  
    Severance costs and other non-operating expenses   100       —     —       —  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   219       —     (308 )     30  
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   765       952     —       —  
    Other loss, net   —       —     —       (354 )
    Adjusted EBITDA (1) (2) $ 106,527     $ 23,982   $ 17,171     $ (25,644 )
                                 
      Year Ended December 31, 2024
      Refining   Logistics   Retail   Corporate and Other
    Operating income (loss) by segment $ 17,412     $ 89,351   $ 64,800     $ (123,935 )
    Depreciation and amortization   91,108       27,033     11,037       2,412  
    Inventory valuation adjustment   (490 )     —     —       —  
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments   (19,136 )     —     —       —  
    Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives   43,281       —     —       —  
    Acquisition and integration costs   —       —     —       100  
    Severance costs and other non-operating expenses   642       —     154       14,006  
    Par West redevelopment and other costs   —       —     —       12,548  
    Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments   3,856       —     —       —  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   8       124     (10 )     100  
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments   2,493       3,651     —       —  
    Other loss, net   —       —     —       (1,869 )
    Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 139,174     $ 120,159   $ 75,981     $ (96,638 )
                                 
      Year Ended December 31, 2023
      Refining   Logistics   Retail   Corporate and Other
    Operating income (loss) by segment $         676,161             $         69,744           $         56,603             $         (122,502 )
    Depreciation and amortization           81,017                       25,122                     11,462                       2,229          
    Inventory valuation adjustment           102,710                       —                     —                       —          
    Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments           (189,783 )             —                     —                       —          
    Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives           (50,511 )             —                     —                       —          
    Acquisition and integration costs           —                       —                     —                       17,482          
    Severance costs and other non-operating expenses           100                       —                     580                       1,105          
    Par West redevelopment and other costs           —                       —                     —                       11,397          
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net           219                       —                     (308 )             30          
    Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments           1,586                       1,857                     —                       —          
    Other loss, net           —                       —                     —                       (53 )
    Adjusted EBITDA (1) (2) $         621,499             $         96,723           $         68,337             $         (90,312 )

    _______________________________________

    (1) For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no change in value of contingent consideration, change in value of common stock warrants, impairment expense, impairments associated with our investment in Laramie Energy, or our share of Laramie Energy’s asset impairment losses in excess of our basis difference.
    (2) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, there was no impact in Operating income (loss) from accounting policy differences at our refining and logistics investments.
       

    Laramie Energy Adjusted EBITDAX

    Adjusted EBITDAX is defined as net income (loss) excluding commodity derivative loss (gain), loss (gain) on settled derivative instruments, interest expense, gain on extinguishment of debt, non-cash preferred dividend, depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion, exploration and geological and geographical expense, bonus accrual, equity-based compensation expense, loss (gain) on disposal of assets, phantom units, and expired acreage (non-cash). We believe Adjusted EBITDAX is a useful supplemental financial measure to evaluate the economic and operational performance of exploration and production companies such as Laramie Energy.

    The following table presents a reconciliation of Laramie Energy’s Adjusted EBITDAX to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income (loss) for the periods indicated (in thousands):

      Three Months Ended December 31,   Year Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net income (loss) $ (11,250 )   $ 42,538     $ (15,546 )   $ 96,586  
    Commodity derivative (income) loss   4,766       (40,338 )     (11,055 )     (73,289 )
    Loss on settled derivative instruments   389       1,594       14,609       161  
    Interest expense and loan fees   4,845       5,366       20,628       20,108  
    Gain on extinguishment of debt   —       —       —       6,644  
    Non-cash preferred dividend   —       —       —       2,910  
    Depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion   8,158       7,714       32,841       30,179  
    Phantom units   3,328       2,325       2,825       5,496  
    Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net   —       —       (8 )     307  
    Expired acreage (non-cash)   770       441       1,492       553  
    Total Adjusted EBITDAX (1) $ 11,006     $ 19,640     $ 45,786     $ 89,655  

    _______________________________________

    (1) For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no exploration and geological and geographical expense, bonus accrual, or equity-based compensation expense.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Outstanding craftsmanship and international voices: the 5 films up for best documentary at the 2025 Oscars

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phoebe Hart, Associate Professor, Film Screen & Animation, Queensland University of Technology

    Oscar-nominated best documentary film Sugarcane. Disney+

    The Academy Awards represent the screen industry’s biggest annual global recognition for the very best of moviemaking. And in these troubled times, many recognise the power of documentaries to transform the world for the better.

    Like last year, the 2025 nominations for Best Documentary are international in their scope, continuing an Academy trend of placing more emphasis on voices outside of the United States.

    This year’s nominations feature a few milestones: it’s the first time a Japanese filmmaker has been put forward, and the first time an Indigenous North American filmmaker has been nominated in Oscars history.

    All exhibit outstanding craftsmanship while exploring intense themes. The following roundup will hopefully encourage you to check them out at the cinema or online, and see why the experts also think they deserve the top gong.

    Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

    Johan Grimonprez’s experimental essay examines the Cold War politics of the 1950s and 60s. At this time, many African nations were gaining independence from their colonial masters.

    In Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, the uranium and mineral rich Democratic Republic of the Congo becomes a poignant case study.

    As the first prime minister Patrice Lumumba breaks the country away from Belgian rule, a murderous plot by global superpowers to destroy the country’s newfound sovereignty unfolds.

    And underneath it all: the frenetic beat of jazz as a revolutionary reaction against racism on both sides of the Atlantic.

    A wealth of archival material featuring former world leaders, the Congolese situation, and the musical stylings of Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and others make this documentary effortlessly cool. The edit and sound design has a wonderful syncopated rhythm, revealing fascinating facets of modern history and the scramble for power.

    Sugarcane

    St. Joseph’s Mission was a residential school for Indigenous children in Canada, which closed in 1981.

    When ground penetrating radar begins looking for unmarked graves at the school, Julian Brave NoiseCat – whose father was born on the site – and co-director Emily Kassie embark on a quest of accountability for a myriad of institutional abuses.

    Editors Nathan Punwar and Maya Daisy Hawke interweave archival reels alongside Emily Kassie and Christopher LaMarca’s stark verité cinematography. The film captures members of the Williams Lake First Nation community reckoning with generations of trauma at the hands of Catholic clergy.

    Together, they present some disturbing facts in the film, which won a directing award at the Sundance Film Festival.

    National Geographic has routinely received a documentary Oscar nomination. This film is a challenging topic for Australian and New Zealand audiences. We also have a troubling history with the placement of Aboriginal children in homes, where many faced hardships and mistreatment.

    Sugarcane gives a platform for truth-telling and healing.

    Porcelain War

    Ceramists Slava Leontyev and Anya Stasenko are inspired by the nature of Ukraine and each other. Their friend, and fellow creator, Andrey Stefanov documents their lives on tape after his wife and children flee at the start of the Russian invasion.

    All become involved in active defiance.

    The film combines nonprofessional video, body cams and drone footage alongside wildlife photography and charming animations of Anya’s delicate paintings on clay.

    There are gripping scenes of armed conflict from the viewpoint of Slava’s squad of reservists. These are everyday folks who have become involved in fighting on the ground.

    Porcelain War benefits from a soundtrack composed and performed by folk music quartet DakhaBrakha. This adds an eerie texture to this portrait of hope.

    The film thoughtfully balances light and shade with grace, demonstrating that art remains a potent way to oppose erasure.

    Black Box Diaries

    When her high-profile #MeToo sexual assault case is dropped on the grounds of insufficient evidence, Japanese journalist, director and producer Shiori Itō commences chronicling her journey to justice.

    Deploying abstract imagery over recorded conversations with investigators and witnesses, Itō builds her argument over several years. The passage of time is interspersed with her unfiltered video diary entries.

    There has been controversy about the director including hotel footage of her drugged and being dragged out of a taxi by her attacker, senior reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi, without permission. Itō had been given the footage for the legal case, but had agreed it would not be used outside of the courtroom.

    The debate has prevented the film from showing on Japanese screens. However, Itō has argued the public good of using this material outweighs commercial interests – especially considering the pressure of Yamaguchi’s influential connections to quell the case, which include then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

    Itō doesn’t shy away from exposing the raw emotional depths of her remarkably brave undertaking against fierce odds, and she serves as an inspiring change-maker we should all heed.

    No Other Land

    No Other Land takes stock of the West Bank situation from the perspective of Basel Adra, who documents evictions of Palestinians in his home village of Masafer Yatta.

    Basel works with journalist Yuval Abraham to bear witness to the army’s gradual destruction of his village to make way for a military training ground.

    No Other Land features some great observational camerawork with many poetic images of resilience. Things kick up a notch when a villager, Harun, is shot by Israeli soldiers while trying to confiscate his building tools. Basel is targeted for filming the ensuing protests – but Adra and Abraham continue undeterred.

    A friendship develops amid the chaos between the Palestinian activist and Israeli reporter, who co-direct and edit with Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor. It’s the touching humanity of their relationship that goes to the core of the film; compassion is key to deescalating tensions in the region.

    In Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, Porcelain War, Black Box Diaries and No Other Land are streaming on DocPlay; Sugarcane is streaming on Disney+.

    Phoebe Hart 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. Outstanding craftsmanship and international voices: the 5 films up for best documentary at the 2025 Oscars – https://theconversation.com/outstanding-craftsmanship-and-international-voices-the-5-films-up-for-best-documentary-at-the-2025-oscars-249151

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –