May 15, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

President of France Emmanuel Macron has assured that all French wheeled self-propelled artillery systems CAESAR manufactured in 2025 will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said that he will personally demand that putin take part in talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Türkiye.

Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni has expressed hope that russia will agree to a 30-day ceasefire as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

Pope Leo XIV has offered his mediation in the negotiations to all the countries at war. “I will do my best to make peace spread,” the Pope said.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed the approval of the 17th package of sanctions against russia, which targets 189 tankers of the “shadow fleet”.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has promised to impose sanctions against russia if it refuses to comply with the unconditional ceasefire. “Our intention is to impose new sanctions against the rf in the coming days” if it does not agree to a ceasefire, the French President added. He also pointed out that European states are coordinating their sanctions steps.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noël Barrot believes that the European Union should focus on a new package of sanctions to strangle russia’s economy and force putin to end the war against Ukraine.

European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis has emphasized that the European Commission plans to continue imposing new sanctions against russia, and work on the 18th package of sanctions will begin soon.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has launched a legal procedure to establish a Special Tribunal for the rf’s crime of aggression against Ukraine. “The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to Ukraine on its path to justice and reconstruction by launching the process to establish a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression,” the Council of Europe said.

Against the background of russia’s war against Ukraine, Armenia has refused to purchase russian weapons and started buying weapons from India and France. Thus, in 2022-2023, Yerevan signed defense contracts with New Delhi for more than $1.5 billion, and with Paris in 2023-2024 – for $250 million. At the same time, Armenia’s last defense agreement with russia worth $400 million was signed in 2021 and has not been fully implemented yet.

russian dance duos and sports couples were not allowed to participate in international figure skating competitions.

During the more than three years of full-scale war in Ukraine, 6,374 russians aged 18 to 45 have applied for asylum in Germany. However, only 349 of them were granted refugee status.

russia’s economy is becoming increasingly vulnerable in the context of a protracted war and Western sanctions. This is stated in the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE)’s report, prepared specifically for the meeting of EU Ministers of Finance. Despite its apparent stability, russia’s economy is increasingly suffering from internal imbalances and structural distortions. In the short term, it is being kept afloat by large-scale fiscal stimulus associated with the country’s putting the economy on a wartime track. However, in the long term, this model is becoming less and less viable due to the shrinking financial reserves and the non-transparent financing mechanism that distorts the distribution of resources.

The state duma in the first reading supported a draft law which provides for the seizure of property of russians who have left the rf and committed administrative violations “against the interests of the rf.” However, this version does not contain a specific list of offenses covered by the document.

At the end of this year, the russian car market may roll back to the level of 2016. Car sales could drop to around 1.4 million units. The main reasons for the expected decline in new car sales in russia are the record high key policy rate of the central bank, rising car loan costs and the elimination of discounts from manufacturers.

Restrictions on the export of petrol from russia are going to be extended again – until October 2025.

The 1930s are back: the state duma intends to introduce a “vigilance payment” for russians for reliable information about violations of migration laws by visitors from other countries. Payments will be made for each illegal migrant detected.

chairperson of the state duma committee on public and religious associations yana lantratova made a long speech about religion, which she called part of russia's “spiritual shield” in the war against Ukraine. During the speech, she accused the organization “peace to all”, which was created by clergymen who left the rf and help other clergymen who suffered for their anti-war position, of working for Western intelligence services.

The prosecutor general’s office of the rf has recognized the International Indigenous Fund for Development and Solidarity Batani as a so-called undesirable organization. According to the prosecutor’s office, the Fund is engaged in supporting and preparing “for anti-russian speeches at international events, in particular those held under the auspices of the United Nations.”

81 % of migrant children were not allowed to take the russian language test for admission to russian schools: out of 1,762 applications, only 335 were approved.

Tour guides and guides-interpreters in the rb have been obliged to know the state ideology and implement ideological work, as well as to promote “recognition of the uniqueness of the belarusian model of social development” among tourists and sightseers.

The number of students in full-time general secondary education institutions studying in belarusian continues to decline, while the number of students studying in russian will be growing. In general, the number of students studying in belarusian decreased by 34.4 % (from 135,523 at the end of 2014 to 88,885 at the end of 2024), while the number of students studying in russian increased by 22.6 % (from 808,293 to 991,274).