Moscow and New York (February 13, 2006) — Open Joint Stock Company Vimpel-Communications ("VimpelCom" or the "Company") (NYSE: VIP)today confirmed that it has sent in the past week an offer to both Telenor ASA and Altimo (the telecom subsidiary of Alfa Group) to acquire 100% of CJSC "Kyivstar G.S.M." ("Kyivstar") for a total consideration of US$5.0 billion in VimpelCom common registered shares plus the assumption of debt.

VimpelCom believes that the proposed acquisition of Kyivstar would create significant value for the shareholders of VimpelCom, Telenor and Alfa Group. Kyivstar, which is beneficially owned 56.5% by Telenor and 43.5% by Alfa Group, is the leading mobile operator in Ukraine, with approximately 14.3 million subscribers as of 31 January 2006.

Alexander Izosimov, VimpelCom's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We very much regret that our offer has been the subject of press speculation at this early stage. We believe the acquisition of Kyivstar will create significant value for all our shareholders and provide an opportunity to create more value than on a standalone basis. This transaction, which would be subject to approval by our public minority shareholders, would put us firmly on track to become the number one telecoms company in the CIS."

VimpelCom management will continue to seek to pursue and negotiate a potential transaction as it believes that the combination of VimpelCom and Kyivstar is compelling from a strategic and financial perspective. The offer also responds to Telenor's stated request that VimpelCom should explore other entry alternatives into Ukraine. VimpelCom is confident that its offer presents an attractive opportunity for all parties involved, including Telenor, Altimo and VimpelCom, to move forward with expansion into Ukraine.

The indicative price of US$5.0 billion reflects VimpelCom's estimates not only of Kyivstar's current market position and operating margins but also of VimpelCom management's belief that it can generate significant synergies, as well as significant operating efficiencies, over the next five years from the combination of Kyivstar and VimpelCom. Including the expected synergies, the acquisition is expected to be accretive on a net earnings basis to VimpelCom public shareholders from 2007.

The offer is subject, among other things, to completion of due diligence and all required approvals by VimpelCom's board and minority shareholders, together with a fairness opinion from VimpelCom's financial adviser, UBS Investment Bank.