May 5, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

In 2025, France intends to produce 1,200 AASM Hammer bombs for Ukraine, almost twice as many as in 2024.

Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, in his final public speech in office, called for a united and peaceful Europe. Scholz assured that Berlin would not tolerate the war that putin unleashed against Ukraine. He emphasized that Europe is the embodiment of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, and is “a counterweight to the bloody horrors of war,” so it is incompatible with military imperialism and disregard for international law.

Minister for Migration of Sweden Johan Forssell was outraged by the car rally in Stockholm on May 9. He pointed out that Sweden is not obliged to “show hospitality” to those who “threaten our public order or security”.

Lithuania has introduced additional restrictions for russian citizens, which provide for the loss of residence permits for those who travel to the rf or the rb more than once within three months without objective reasons.

The administration of President Donald Trump has developed new measures of economic influence on the kremlin, which shows no signs of desire to put an end to the war against Ukraine.

Since 2014, 24,311 sanctions have been imposed against russia, – five times more than against Iran, which is subject to about 5,000 restrictions. The United States has imposed the most sanctions against russia – 7,384, which is more than 30 % of the total. The USA is followed by Canada (3,639), Switzerland (3,266) and France (2,423).

The crisis in the russian mortgage market is gaining momentum: loan delinquencies have exceeded 100 billion rubles, developers are massively freezing new projects, while buyers are looking for alternatives to mortgages – from installments to leasing and trade-in. Despite the government support measures, housing affordability has plummeted. Banks intensify lending and developers adjust their strategies, resulting in the threat of a shortage of residential real estate.

The supply of massive new buildings in moscow has sharply decreased.

The ministry of labor of the rf will take measures to reduce the dropout rate of students in order to meet the catastrophic need for almost 500,000 doctors.

russia has the world’s highest rate of telephone fraud – more than 20 million calls per day. The number of calls from fraudsters has remained at 6–7 million a day for several months in a row.

An illegal market for smuggling imported goods has developed in russia. The trade in illicit goods is organized by a shuttle system: individual russians travel abroad, purchase the necessary goods, and then bring them into russia under the guise of personal belongings. Luxury goods, jewelry, and expensive gadgets are in particular demand.

belarus is 166th  in the press freedom ranking, according to a report on the website of the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “34 countries stand out for the massive closure of their media, which has led to the expulsion of journalists in recent years. This is especially true for Nicaragua (172nd place), Belarus (166th ), Iran (176th ), Myanmar (169th ), Sudan (156th ), Azerbaijan (167th ) and Afghanistan (175th ), where economic difficulties exacerbate the effects of political pressure,” RSF pointed out. According to the belarusian association of journalists, 40 media representatives are behind bars.

As of April 2025, individuals’ overdue loans in belarusian rubles amounted to 42.7 million rubles (33.2 million, i.e. +28.6 %). In January–March 2025, banks issued loans to individuals for RUB 4 billion 54.7 million, which is by 16.5 % more than in the first quarter of 2024 (RUB 3 billion 479 million).