June 12, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Ukraine will receive nearly 1.7 billion pounds from the United Kingdom to buy weapons, including Rapid Ranger air defense systems and Marlet missiles.

Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz has accused russia of “serious war crimes” for the recent massive attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

“I live here. I go to shelters just like you and wake up to the same explosions. It is absolutely clear that Moscow has no intention of ending this terror unless it is forced to,” said European Union’s Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova.

Minister of Defence of Lithuania Dovilė Šakalienė has said that her country is firmly convinced of the need to grant Ukraine NATO membership.

The European Union is allocating additional EUR 13 million to Ukraine’s Energy Efficiency Fund, and Germany – EUR 5 million.

Head of the Netherland’s Open Door Ukraine Foundation Robert Serry has said that the current situation in Ukraine and the world should be a “wake-up call” for European countries, which should continue to support our country and strengthen their own security.

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The European Commission proposes to introduce a ban on the purchase of petroleum products made from russian oil as part of the 18th package of sanctions against russia. Although the embargo on direct deliveries from russia to the EU has been in place since February 2023, nothing prevents companies in third countries from buying cheaper russian oil and shipping products to Europe after refining. Now, the European Commission wants to close the road for russian oil entering the EU “through the back door”, said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, announcing the measures included in the 18th package of sanctions: “We are introducing a ban on imports of refined products based on russian oil”. The main blow to russian oil exports is the reduction of the price ceiling from $60 to $45 for a barrel.

The European Union also plans to disconnect 22 more russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system as part of the 18th package of sanctions.

The introduction of the 17th package of sanctions against russia, in particular against the russian “shadow fleet”, reduced the volume of oil exports from russia via the Baltic and Black Seas by 30 % within just one week. This was reported by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

According to the Head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) of Germany, russia’s population supports putin and his military goals in Ukraine.

Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Saulius Skvernelis has said that jamming of GPS signal that has recently been experienced by planes and ships in the port of Klaipeda will continue until the russian aggression against Ukraine ends.

The Embassy of Uzbekistan has sent a note to the ministry of foreign affairs of the rf demanding that migrants be treated with respect. According to a representative of the Republic’s Foreign Ministry, the ill-treatment of citizens of Uzbekistan in russia is a cause for concern.

The “russian theater” in Tallinn will be renamed the “Syudalinna Theater” after the name of the neighborhood in which it is located. The Director of the Theater has explained that the issue of renaming was raised “because the war is ongoing, and the presence of the word “russian” in the name causes rejection”.

The rf’s budget deficit continues to grow. In May, it added 168 billion rubles and over five months amounted to 3.4 trillion rubles, or 1.5 % of GDP. This is almost five times more than a year ago.

In the first quarter of 2025, the net profit of russian oil and gas companies almost halved. In three months, oil and gas corporations, on which every third ruble in the budget depends, earned 789.5 billion rubles, compared to 1.445 trillion a year earlier. The profitability of oil refineries declined to almost nothing. In the quarter, petroleum product producers earned 4.5 billion rubles, down by 95.7 %, or 23 times less than a year earlier. In general, the raw materials industry, which accounts for 14 % of russia’s GDP and half of the budget revenues, lost 38 % of its balanced profit: 1.098 trillion rubles against 1.759 trillion in the first quarter of last year.

The wholesale price of capelin in russia has almost tripled over the past year. The price increase continues: over the past week, the wholesale price of capelin has increased by 5 %. It has been the most expensive fish since the beginning of the year. In June 2024, capelin was by 46 % cheaper than Atlantic herring in the central part of the country, but now it is by 5 % more expensive. It is also by 34 % more expensive than pollock.

In May, average tariffs for freight transportation in russia increased due to a shortage of trucks. In May, tariffs reached 66.4 rubles a kilometer, approaching the level of 2024 (68.7 rubles a kilometer). The main reasons for the growth include a shrinking fleet of vehicles and higher tariffs, a shortage of drivers, seasonal demand for construction materials, and dumping by Chinese carriers, who offer rates by 30-40 % lower due to cheaper loans.

In the first four months of 2025, the funeral services market in russia grew by 12.7 % year-on-year to RUB 39.5 billion. The acceleration in growth was driven by an increase in mortality.

In 2024, residents of russia with disabilities received 152.5 thousand prostheses of the upper and lower limbs from the state. This figure is by 53 % higher than in 2023, when 99.2 thousand artificial arms and legs were received (against 64.8 thousand in 2022). Last year, the number of prosthetic arms given to russians increased by 75 % – from 8.2 thousand to 14.5 thousand. The number of prosthetic legs was by 51 % higher – an increase from 91 to 138 thousand units. The number of allocated wheelchairs increased by 18%.

The minister of internal affairs of the rf has said that migrants who are “useless” should be expelled from the territory of russia.

There are over 300,000 underage migrants in russia who are not officially enrolled in educational institutions.

Students of non-core universities in russia have been allowed to work as teachers regardless of their specialty due to a shortage of personnel. Every fourth student-teacher leaves the university, while less than 42 % of the total number of students work as teachers.

The list of organizations subject to stricter restrictions on dual-use goods in the EU may soon include 22 new companies, including those from belarus, bringing the total number to over 800.

Since the beginning of the year, Poland has stopped more than 12 thousand attempts to illegally cross the border from belarus.

Between February 2022 and the autumn of 2023, at least one thousand russian special forces servicemen including those involved in the shootings of civilian Ukrainians, were secretly treated in belarusian medical institutions. The treatment of russian military servicemen in belarusian hospitals is not a humanitarian mission, but belarusian regime’s direct support for aggression against Ukraine.

The ministry of healthcare of the rb has warned lukashenko about high epidemiological risks associated with the massive entry of labor migrants. This refers to bringing in diseases such as cholera, malaria, and polio.

lukashenko explained the shortage of potatoes in belarus by politics. “There were enough potatoes, but they kept them somewhere to show that the president interfered in pricing, so this is the result,” he said. According to the belarusian dictator, such actions were intended to discredit the regime.