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

The first batch of military equipment purchased under the agreement between the USA and NATO as part of the PURL program has arrived in Ukraine.

“We will work harder on military support. This year, we will reach one billion euros in military and security aid (to Ukraine). We are continuing with reconstruction projects and humanitarian aid,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys.

Minister of Finance of Germany Lars Klingbeil has said that his country wants to work productively on ideas for using frozen russian assets. “There is a financial need there. We want to fulfill our responsibility for Ukraine,” said Klingbeil.

European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis has stressed that the European Commission will take into account the International Monetary Fund’s assessment of Ukraine’s financial needs for the next two years when determining the amount of reparations from russian assets.

Head of the United Kingdom’s MI6 intelligence service Richard Moore currently sees “no evidence” that putin wants to negotiate peace in Ukraine.

The 69th  General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a resolution titled Nuclear Safety, Physical Nuclear Security, and Safeguards in Ukraine, demanding the immediate de-occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

“Poland is in favor of Moldova and Ukraine conducting negotiations in parallel. We took this position during Poland’s EU presidency,” said Piotr Łukasiewicz, Poland’s chargé d'affaires in Ukraine, regarding our country’s EU accession process.

Lithuania will open in Kyiv an office of the Central Agency for the Management of Ukraine’s reconstruction projects.

Following the Defense Tech Valley 2025 summit, Ukrainian defense companies managed to attract $100 million in investments.

Ireland is transferring to Ukraine 34 vehicles and three robots for demining.

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The European Commission has approved a proposal for a new 19th package of EU sanctions against russia, which proposes banning imports of russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) into its territory until January 1, 2027. Besides, 118 vessels belonging to the “shadow fleet of the rf” may be added to the blacklist, and the activities of Rosneft and Gazprom Neft in the EU may be restricted. At the same time, sanctions are proposed against oil refineries, oil traders, and petrochemical companies in third countries, particularly China, that purchase russian oil. In addition, there are plans to strengthen safeguards against sanctions circumvention, in particular, in the banking sector, targeting crypto exchanges for the first time, and to add new export restrictions on goods and technologies that could be used in the war. “We are also adding to this list 45 companies in russia and third countries that have provided direct or indirect support to the russian military-industrial complex. “In a war driven by innovation, cutting off russia’s access to key technologies is crucial above all when it comes to drones,” said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he considers russia’s income from energy sales to be one of the key factors in ending the russian-Ukrainian war.

US senators have drafted new legislation that would significantly expand US sanctions against russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers. The legislation reflects the growing interest of lawmakers in Washington in increasing pressure on moscow to cut off putin’s funding for the war. If passed, the legislation will also target russian liquefied natural gas projects and expand sanctions against the country’s defense industry. The bill has the support of a group of senators from both parties, as well as Trump allies Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“putin has recently shown his true colors again, launching the most massive strike since the start of the full-scale invasion, causing even more bloodshed, killing even more innocent people, and violating NATO airspace in an unprecedented manner. This does not look like the actions of someone who wants peace,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer  said he had discussed with US President Donald Trump the urgent need to increase pressure on russia to end the war in Ukraine.

Minister of Economy of Spain Carlos Cuervo has said that his government supports the European Commission’s efforts to monetize frozen russian assets to help our country. He stressed that Spain is in favor of “maximizing funding for Ukraine”.

Minister of Education and Science of Estonia Kristina Kallas has said that in the future, the state will only finance private schools that teach in Estonian. According to her, there is no turning back from teaching in Estonian.

Estonia will not reopen to vehicles the border crossing in Narva until the war in Ukraine is over.

Andrej Babiš, leader of the ANO movement which is likely to win the elections in the Czech Republic, has said that he does not plan to lift the ban on russian media outlets that are under EU sanctions.

China has suspended unofficial subsidies for imports of copper and nickel from russia. This will make russian metals less competitive. For many years, Chinese state-owned enterprises have been able to receive discounts on copper and nickel purchases in the form of a fixed amount or a small percentage of the metal’s cost, depending on market conditions. The situation is similar to oil sales. Since Western countries have given it up,   and China and India have become virtually the only importers, russian companies have to sell them raw materials at a significant discount.

From September 1 to 15, 3.3 million tons of fuel were shipped from russian ports to foreign markets, which is by 18 % less than during the same period last year and by 16 % less than the average for July.

The government of the rf is discussing measures to support metallurgical companies, which, due to sanctions and high key rates, are facing a crisis on the scale of the 1990s. Two initiatives are being considered: a moratorium on bankruptcy proceedings against metallurgical companies and a deferral of tax payments until December 2025. At this, market participants believe that this will not stabilize the situation in the industry.

As an “anti-crisis measure”, russian authorities have allowed developers, particularly those on the verge of bankruptcy, to postpone the deadlines for completing housing projects. The deadlines for 19 % of construction projects have already been postponed, and about 20 % of developers are facing the threat of collapse.

Chairman of the Moscow Exchange’s supervisory board Sergey Shevtsov has called for preparations to be made for the federal budget to remain military-oriented for many years to come, as russia will need to rebuild its reserves and infrastructure and rearm. “We have a problem – it’s the budget. The budget is a military one. And it will remain so for another 5-8 years, because what do you do after the war is over? You prepare for the next war,” he said.

Climate change is having an increasingly noticeable impact on russia’s economy. Average annual losses could amount to 2 % of GDP per year. This includes both direct damage from natural disasters and indirect consequences such as reduced crop yields, infrastructure degradation, and increased morbidity.

Almost half of self-employed russians experience difficulties when trying to obtain a loan or credit to develop their business. The greatest difficulties arise when applying to banks, which 49.9 % of respondents encountered, as well as state microfinance organizations (MFOs) – 45.1 % and commercial MFOs – 43.5 %.

Roskomnadzor demands from russian telecom operators to provide information about subscribers abroad under the pretext of detecting fraudsters. In addition, the authorities intend to oblige messengers to restrict calls to russians from accounts registered on foreign SIM cards. A similar principle is planned to be introduced for calls from foreign numbers via regular networks. The proposal to block SIM cards while roaming is the next step in the systematic cleansing of communication channels. This initiative followed immediately after the recent blocking of calls on Telegram and WhatsApp and works on the same principle: under the pretext of social approval, another means of communication that is not controlled by the authorities is being eliminated. At the same time, the proposed “system of exceptions” for “law-abiding citizens” will enable the authorities to keep track of all those who have left and monitor their activities, create leverage over undesirable citizens, and divide russians into “right” and “wrong” already at the level of access to basic services.

The kremlin plans to abolish the patent system for migrants. A patent is a document that allows citizens of countries that do not require a visa to enter russia to work legally in the country.

The state duma wants to introduce “joint responsibility” for migrants who have violated russian laws. “If one of them commits a crime, he must be held accountable to the full extent of the law, and his entire family, his entire clan, will be immediately deported from russia. Let them be responsible for their citizens,” said mp Mironov.

moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has proposed revising (abolishing) the health insurance system for citizens who are not employed. According to the mayor, a significant part of the approximately 10 million russian citizens in this category have no objective reasons for being unemployed.

russians registered at the labor exchange are offered contract military service as a job opportunity. If they reject such “employment” twice, they are deprived of unemployment benefits.

After Western authors, including J.K. Rowling and Stephen King, withdrew from the russian market, the largest publishing group, Eksmo-AST, lost at least two billion rubles in total revenue. The publishing house spends another 2-3 billion rubles a year on checking about 20-30 thousand books, including previously published books, for content that the russian authorities consider prohibited (propaganda of non-traditional relationships, extremism, mentioning drugs).

A person who comes to pray can be compared to a car that, “in order to move, must get fuel” at a filling station, said patriarch of the russian orthodox church kirill. “The temple is the very same ‘spiritual filling station’,” he said.

Activists of the russian orthodox church have proposed banning the sale of condoms to families. According to the “Sorok sorokov” movement, condoms reduce the birth rate and exacerbate the demographic crisis, while restricting access to contraceptives will strengthen the institution of marriage and reduce the number of divorces and cases of child neglect. “As the Scripture teaches: be fruitful and multiply. Contraceptives promote a selfish consumerist attitude to the family,” emphasizes the appeal, which Orthodox Taliban activists have already sent to the state duma.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has stated the need to strengthen the protection of the European Union’s eastern borders and called on the EU to increase funding for countries bordering russia and belarus.

According to the results of eight months and 16 days of September 2025, the number of illegal attempts to cross the border from belarusian territory recorded by neighboring EU countries exceeded the figure for the whole of 2024. Since the beginning of January, 36,415 attempts have been stopped, compared to 36,291 last year.

belarusian siloviki will get quick access to the personal data of passengers leaving or entering the country by bus. This will be possible after lawmakers pass new rules that will require carriers to send customer info to a state database.

lukashenko demands that some regions share their harvest with others. “If you have an extra apple, give it away. Approach this from a state perspective, not just from a regional perspective. This must be done in a military manner.”