Russian bank launches 'special military operation' cards for veterans

The bank has now started issuing cards in Avdiivka, a town captured by Russia in February, the Donetsk region's pro-Russian information ministry said on Monday. Promsvyazbank did not immediately respond to a request for comment when asked about Avdiivka.

Russia's state-owned Promsvyazbank on Monday said it had launched "special military operation" bank cards for combat veterans, giving them a form of electronic identification and a simple way to get access to social benefits. Russia refers to the war in Ukraine as a "special military operation", although the Kremlin said last month that the conflict had "become a war" because of the involvement of the West.

Promsvyazbank offers a range of services but has focused on state employees and the defence sector since it was bailed out by the central bank in 2017. It has opened branches in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022. The bank has now started issuing cards in Avdiivka, a town captured by Russia in February, the Donetsk region's pro-Russian information ministry said on Monday.

Promsvyazbank did not immediately respond to a request for comment when asked about Avdiivka. Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to annex Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in September 2022, following what Ukraine said were sham referendums. The move was condemned by many countries as illegal.

Russian forces only partly control the four regions. (Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)