Russian war correspondent and United Russia candidate Poddubny declares shares in Apple, Intel, and Nebius Group in election filing

Yevgeny Poddubny, a well-known Russian war correspondent and one of the top five candidates on the United Russia party list for the State Duma elections, has declared ownership of shares in several foreign companies in his election registration filing, according to the Russian business daily Kommersant.

According to the disclosure, Poddubny holds eight shares of Nebius Group N.V., a Dutch company founded by Yandex co-founder Arkady Volozh; four shares each of Apple and Procter & Gamble; and one share of Intel Corporation. He also has stakes in two foreign funds: the FinEx USA Information Technology UCITS ETF and FinEx Physically Backed Funds ICAV.

Russian law prohibits candidates from holding foreign assets at the time of registration unless “objective reasons” beyond their control prevent them from divesting. Candidates who are unable to shed such assets must assure the election commission that they have taken all necessary steps to do so.

United Russia’s press service stated that Poddubny had completed all actions necessary to divest his “foreign financial documents” by the time he submitted his registration paperwork.

Poddubny is a correspondent for the Russian state broadcaster VGTRK and one of Russia’s best-known war correspondents, with a Telegram channel followed by more than half a million people. In August 2024, he was severely wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk region, and the following month, Vladimir Putin awarded him the title of Hero of Russia for “courage and heroism displayed in the line of duty.”

In June 2026, United Russia confirmed that Poddubny would be included among the top five candidates on its federal list for the State Duma election, alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

Russian law requires candidates to close foreign bank accounts and stop holding money or valuables in foreign banks outside Russia before they can be nominated. In 2021, Russian election officials disqualified Pavel Grudinin, a Communist Party candidate and director of the Lenin State Farm, from the State Duma election over his foreign financial holdings.