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

Sweden has announced a new, 1.1 billion Swedish kronor (over $116 million), package of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

According to Minister of Defence of the FRG Boris Pistorius, by the end of the year, Germany, with the support of its Norwegian partners, will transfer two more modern Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.

US Special Envoy to Ukraine General Keith Kellogg has confirmed that US President Donald Trump has authorized Ukraine to carry out long-range strikes against russia.

“We remain committed to peace, but this requires the willingness of both sides. But, unfortunately, over the past few weeks, we have seen that the russians refuse to participate in any bilateral meetings with the Ukrainians. They refuse to participate in any trilateral meetings where the President or some other member of the administration could sit down at the negotiating table with the russians and Ukrainians,” said US Vice President J. D. Vance. The Vice President also pointed out that the US presidential administration is discussing the potential provision of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, but the final decision rests with US President Donald Trump.

President of the European Council António Costa is working to promote Ukraine’s application for EU membership.

“...If putin does not want to stop the war, we need the war to move onto russian territory. Ukraine is doing this work very effectively, reducing oil production in russia,” said European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius.

“russia continues to wage an illegal war against Ukraine and has even intensified its attacks to an unprecedented level of brutality. All this leaves no doubt: putin does not want a ceasefire, nor does he want peace for Ukraine,” Minister of Defence of Germany Boris Pistorius is convinced that the international community must focus on strengthening Ukraine’s defense.

Minister of Defence of the Netherlands Ruben Brekelmans has stressed the importance of Europeans using Ukraine’s experience in fighting drone attacks.

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“Despite pressure and interference from russia, they (the Moldovan people) chose democracy, reforms, and a European future. The EU supports Moldova. At every step,” President of the European Council António Costa commented on the results of the parliamentary elections in Moldova. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen shares his opinion.

putin will only end the war when he has exhausted all resources and realizes that he cannot win. And the West must help him in this. This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski.

The government of the FRG considers the proposed expansion of the use of frozen russian state assets in the EU as something that could change the rules of the game in russia’s war against Ukraine.

“The provocations are intended to cause political division among NATO countries, but they do not want to fight NATO. They want to create uncertainty and fear among our population,” said Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Sweden Michael Claesson, adding that the risk of russia’s violations has increased.

Due to EU sanctions against the Indian company Nayara Energy, which is controlled by russian entities, Nayara Refinery, the third largest in India, will export about 2.2 million barrels in September, more than twice less than in September 2024.

China intends to restrict access for older tankers to one of its largest oil terminals. This also applies to vessels belonging to russia’s “shadow fleet”. The measures will affect the port of Qingdao, which handles about one-sixth of all oil imports to China. The new rules will come into force at the port on November 1. Ships that are 31 years old or older, as well as tankers that have changed their registration details with the International Maritime Organization or have invalid certificates, will be banned.

russia continues to consider applications for the withdrawal of foreign companies, but no requests for return have been received yet, said deputy minister of finance of the rf Ivan Chebeskov.

The ministry of finance of the rf proposes to raise to 30 % the single income tax rate for foreign agents.

The Central Bank’s fight against russians’ indebtedness has pushed many of them into pawnshops. In January-June, they increased lending to the population by 42 % compared to the first half of last year to 190 billion rubles, the number of loans – by 16 % to 9.3 million, and the portfolio – by 28 % to 94 billion rubles.

The average cost of office renovation by the end of December will reach 208,000 rubles per square meter, adding 10-12 % year-on-year. Materials and design work will increase in price by an average of 15 % this year.

The funding for the state program “Development of the Aviation Industry” in 2026–2027 may amount to 72.5 billion rubles, which is by 39 % less than what is allocated for this period in the current federal budget.

russia’s total oil reserves are estimated at 31 billion tons, but only half of them are profitable due to the significant share of hard-to-extract reserves.

Petrol sales have been limited in central russia and Volga region to 10–20 liters per customer. There are supply disruptions in the Trans-Baikal Territory, and fuel sales restrictions have been recorded in the Khabarovsk Territory. The shortage is observed in at least 10 regions of the rf, including moscow, Leningrad, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Rostov regions.

In the temporarily occupied Sevastopol, restrictions on petrol sales have been introduced due to fuel shortages. Starting September 29, city residents will be able to fill up one car or canister with no more than 30 liters of AI-92, AI-95, AI-95NP, and AI-100 fuel at filling stations.

The conditional level of domestic prices for aviation fuel in the rf for airlines may rise to 72,800 rubles per ton in 2028. This follows from the draft amendments to the Tax Code submitted to the state duma.

russia can no longer mass-produce aircraft. After the collapse of the ussr in the 1990s, many plants and design bureaus were left without funding. Most soviet engineers and technicians retired, and the system for training new specialists was destroyed. Besides, russia’s aviation was heavily dependent on Western components – electronics, avionics, and special materials. After the 2014 sanctions and especially after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, access to these components was virtually cut off.

From December 1, 2025, train tickets in russia will increase in price by 11.4 %.

In 2026, excise taxes on beer in the rf may increase by 10 %, and on wine – by 31 %.

In Transbaikalia, schoolchildren have been transferred to online studying due to the inability to safely reach school on  broken roads.

In the first seven months of 2025, the loss caused by all unprofit organizations in Gomel region exceeded 1 billion rubles (about $330 million). During the same period in 2024, this amount was 848 million rubles, with an increase in loss of almost 128 %.

In response to the ban on phones in belarusian schools, which came into force on September 1, 2025, schoolchildren in minsk educational institutions resort to vandalism and damage toilets, walls, and school furniture.