Vladimir Putin surprises Europe with an unusual move, but retains the "golden share"

President Vladimir Putin has given the green light to sell 30.4% of the government's shares in Sheremetyevo Airport — the largest in Moscow, as reported by Reuters. Putin paved the way for the sale by signing a decree last Thursday that removes Sheremetyevo from the official list of strategic enterprises.

However, Russia is expected to retain the "golden share," which allows it to block any management decision it opposes. The decree prevents the sale of shares to foreign buyers and requires the purchaser to continue the company's core business and its modernization.

It was further reported that Russia's state budget has fallen into a problematic situation following four and a half years of war in Ukraine. Its federal deficit could exceed official plans by more than a trillion rubles (12.85 billion dollars) in 2026, according to data published last month.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discuss eternal life (Photo: Bloomberg)

The deficit stood at 5.73 trillion rubles (69.6 billion dollars), or 2.5% of GDP, in the first half of the year, 1.7 times higher than in the same period of 2025.

Sheremetyevo is the largest airport in Russia, owning and operating terminals with a capacity to handle up to 87 million passengers per year. The actual numbers were 43.5 million in 2025.

Despite sanctions imposed on Russia and flight restrictions, airports remain profitable thanks to increased traffic on domestic routes and to countries "friendly" to it, such as Turkey, Egypt, and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is escalating, and it appears that Vladimir Putin is finding loyal partners in the Far East to cover gaps on the battlefield. A source in Ukraine's military intelligence revealed that a North Korean missile unit has begun deploying in western Russia. According to the report, first published by the Reuters news agency, the force is expected to be equipped with no less than 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers, intended for striking strategic targets in Ukraine.

Andriy Chernyak, a senior official in Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, noted that Russia plans to base the missile unit — which includes about 90 North Korean soldiers and crew members — in the Voronezh region in the west of the country, under the auspices of Russia's 112th Missile Brigade. This step constitutes a worrying expansion of the alliance between the two countries. Pyongyang has already recently sent a new shipment of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles, which have a greater range and significantly higher payload capacity than the Russian "Iskander" missiles, even if they are considered much less accurate.