Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that arms supplies to Ukraine, coordinated by the Alliance, will continue regardless of the outcome of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and putin.

“Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said of putin’s upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Peace in Ukraine must guarantee the security interests of Ukraine and the European Union, which include reliable security guarantees that will allow Ukraine to defend its territorial integrity. This is stated in a Joint Statement of Leaders of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden) on Ukraine. The Nordic-Baltic Eight countries have declared that Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders must remain inviolable.

By agreeing to peace talks, moscow’s leaders are trying to avoid the sanctions announced by US President Donald Trump; moreover, russia will not stop the war in Ukraine until it feels pressure from the USA. This is stated in a statement by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas. She also believes that “any agreement between the USA and russia must include Ukraine and the EU, as this is a matter of security for Ukraine and all of Europe”.

“The West, including European countries, will not accept russian demands which simply amount to the seizure of Ukrainian territory,” – Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk said that US pledged to consult European partners before meeting putin. He also stressed Ukraine’s mandatory participation in the negotiations.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain José Manuel has stressed the importance of including Ukraine in all negotiations regarding its future.

Senior European Commission officials have called on US President Donald Trump not to agree to a “unilateral” exchange of Ukrainian territories during negotiations with russia and emphasized that any agreement must include security guarantees for Ukraine.

US Senator Lindsey Graham has said that President Donald Trump will impose sanctions on consumers of russian oil if the settlement of the war in Ukraine fails. He also stressed the importance of providing security guarantees to our country.

The EU has received a third transfer of revenues from blocked assets of the Central Bank of russia in the amount of EUR 1.6 billion, 95 % of which – more than EUR 1.5 billion – will be used to pay off Ukraine’s loans.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed an order allocating $2 million for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

“20 years later, the kremlin brutally violated this treaty by occupying Latvia. The treaty is still in force and relevant today, but it should be remembered that russia has a poor reputation for respecting the law,” President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs said on the anniversary of the signing of the peace agreement with the ussr, and reminded that russia has a bad legal reputation.

Approximately 4.31 million Ukrainian refugees have temporary protection status in EU countries.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Finland has brought charges of sabotage and gross disruption of telecommunications against the crew members of the russian shadow fleet vessel “Eagle S”, which damaged an electrical cable in the Baltic Sea in December 2024.

The logistics industry in russia is facing a shortage of 1 million employees. This applies to the segments of transportation, warehouse processing, and supply chain management. In August, the most sought-after positions in the logistics industry were truck drivers, order pickers, transport logistics managers, storekeepers, and freight handlers. Logistics entered the top 5 areas with the highest demand for personnel: the most acute shortage of personnel is felt in moscow and Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Rostov regions, and Tatarstan. In the first half of 2025, the number of job offers from employers for timber truck drivers increased by 129 %, and for passenger car drivers – by 80 %.

Sales of premium Chinese cars have fallen significantly in russia. Since the beginning of the year, russians have purchased only 776 “Geländewagens” from the PRC. From January to July, overall sales of new cars fell by 23.9 % compared to the same period in 2024. However, sales of premium Chinese cars fell significantly more. In particular, the Lixiang brand saw a 55.3 % decline, Exeed car sales decreased by 57.5 %, and sales of Zeekr luxury electric cars from January to July inclusive were by 64.7 % lower than a year earlier.

In russia, grain stocks (without corn) in agricultural organizations amounted to 8.367 million tons as of July 1, which is by 47.3 % less than on the same date last year (15.879 million tons). In particular, wheat stocks fell to 4.951 million tons from 11.164 million tons a year earlier. Stocks of rye decreased by 31.2 %, to 179,900 tons, including of food rye – by 27.5 %, to 140.7 million tons, of barley – by 24.1 %, to 950,700 tons, and of oats – by 15.8 %, to 122,000 tons.

Almost half of russians who are clients of microfinance organizations borrow money for everyday expenses and to pay for housing and utilities. In the first six months, the total number of applications for funds increased from 4.28 million to 4.4 million year-on-year, of which 46 % — that is, more than 2 million — were for everyday purchases.

Almost 20 % of russian construction companies are facing bankruptcy due to declining sales amid high mortgage rates. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Khusnullin, who oversees housing and road construction issues in the government.

Announcements of bankruptcies and closures of filling stations may appear on the russian market in the near future. The first to make such proposals will be the so-called small independent networks. If petrol prices do not stabilize in the next two months while the policy of artificially restraining petrol prices in retail trade remains in place, the profitability of the businesses at filling stations will remain negative.

More than 90 % of russian hoteliers have faced a staff shortage in 2025. The shortage of employees is particularly acute in the housekeeping department (24 %) and among administrators and hostesses (22 %).

In russia, spending on preparing children for school has increased by more than a third (35%) year-on-year. 16 % of parents  have to borrow money for their child’s school supplies, while another 16 % use their own savings.

The Ministry of Digital Development of the rf intends to introduce SIM cards for children under 14 with additional control features in the form of a ban on social media authorization with extended traffic filtering.

Freight rates between Moscow and St. Petersburg increased by 5.89 % over the year. The weighted average freight rate in russia was 69.2 rubles for a kilometer(+1.2 % compared to July 2024), exceeding even the traditionally high January level. The increase in rates was recorded for all types of semi-trailers used to transport goods in any sector and amounted to 1.3–1.7 %. 40 % of russian freight carriers spend up to 30 % of their income on fuel every month.

The unavailability of mortgages has reduced demand for mass housing. In moscow, its share of sales fell to 32 % in July – a historic low.

In Lithuania, from August 11 to 22, military exercise “Aršus vilkas 2025” (“Fierce Wolf 2025”) will be held in areas near the border with the rb.

Annual inflation in belarus accelerated to 7.4 % in July. Prices for goods rose by 10.6 % during that period.

According to data from the Polish Border Guard, between August 8 and 10, migrants attempted to cross the Polish border from belarus more than 550 times. The number of attempts increased compared to the previous weekend.

In July 2025, two new buses from the Minsk Automobile Plant were sold on the russian market, which is 14 times fewer than a year earlier.