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

In 2025, the Polish manufacturer MISTA intends to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with more than a hundred Oncilla wheeled armored personnel carriers of its own production.

Volunteers from Canada and the United Kingdom have delivered 46 off-road vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The Coalition of the Willing has emphasized that russia’s demands to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons for a ceasefire are unacceptable.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has said that peace talks between Ukraine and russia in Istanbul are possible only if an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on May 12 is clearly agreed upon. Macron have also expressed support for the idea of deploying foreign troops in Ukraine. “It could be a few thousands, but not several hundred thousand,” Macron said.

“We expect from moscow that it will agree to a ceasefire now, that will then allow serious negotiations. First the weapons must go silent, then talks can begin,” said Chancellor of the FRG Friedrich Merz. “We support Ukraine militarily to the extent that we can and are responsible for it. And we do this in order to put an end to this war,” the German Chancellor added and promised to continue military support for Ukraine. “Under my leadership, debates about weapons supplies, calibers, weapon systems, and so on will be removed from public view,” Merz emphasized.

“First, an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, and then a transition to comprehensive peace talks. Not the other way around,” emphasized US President’s Special Envoy for Ukraine General Keith Kellogg.

“It is simple. Ukraine and the democratic world demand a ceasefire, putin wants to keep shooting,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský.

“In response to our appeal, the russians proposed to start peace talks on May 15. However, the world is waiting for an unequivocal decision on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine is ready. There will be no more casualties,” said Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk.

“putin’s response to another ceasefire proposal: a swarm of 100 drones covering Ukraine at night. putin is playing his usual game – using terror as leverage and stalling for time to avoid a real path to peace,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys.

The State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine and the Ministry of Justice and Security of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of critical infrastructure protection.

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Pope Leo XIV has accused russia of aggression against Ukraine, which is accompanied by crimes against humanity. “In my opinion, this is a real imperialist invasion, where russia wants to conquer the territory for reasons of power and its own superiority because of its strategic location, as well as because of the great value of what Ukraine has for russia in cultural, historical and industrial terms. It has already been proven that crimes against humanity are being committed in Ukraine... yet some politicians in our country do not want to recognize the horrors of this war and the evil that russia is doing with all its actions there in Ukraine.” At the same time, Leo XIV has called for negotiations to achieve a “sincere, just and lasting peace.”

Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal believes that the US and European stances on pressuring russia are once again converging.

In russia, a contract soldier receives about 5 million rubles a year, of which 1-2 million rubles are “disturbance allowance”, while the salary is 250–300 thousand rubles a month. This is much higher than in the civilian sector, where doctors and teachers earn 35-50 thousand rubles a month. This social stratification in income levels indicates serious cracks in the russian economy, caused by high military spending amid a reduction in non-emission sources of financing the war.

In order to continue to contain food prices, the rf’s government has once again extended the quota on the export of mineral fertilizers, this time for the period from June 1 to November 30, 2025.

The ministry of industry and trade of the rf has proposed to identify the buyer of alcohol by biometrics.

Starting May 30, russians will face a new restriction on money transfers – no more than 100,000 rubles or the equivalent amount in foreign currency. This applies to electronic devices as well.

The belarusian company “planar”, which specializes in the manufacturing of electronic equipment, is under international sanctions for its cooperation with the russian military-industrial complex.

In 2024, belarus exported 5.7 million tons of petroleum products to russia by railway, down by 25 % from 2023. The biggest decline was in diesel fuel (minus 58 %, to 1 million tons) and petrol (minus 13 %, to 2.3 million). “russians have to be fed. Logistics through russia is more expensive than through the Baltic states. Almost all the margin is eaten up,” traders say.

belarusian authorities, unable to cope with the shortage of potatoes in the country, have appointed “guilty parties” – specific farms that “exported potatoes abroad or disrupted supplies within the country”.