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

On October 1, Ukraine received a tranche of EUR 4 billion from the EU under the G7 ERA initiative, 50 % of which is to be spent on drones. In total, our country has already attracted EUR 14 billion from the European Union under the ERA instrument out of the planned EUR 18.1 billion.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and  Security Policy Kaja Kallas believes that the idea of a so-called “reparations loan” to Ukraine using russian assets in Europe does not violate international law. She has also made it clear that she has virtually no doubt that russia is behind a series of suspicious incidents in Europe recently, and that such behavior cannot be left without a decisive response.

Sweden and Finland have appealed to EU leaders to support the European Commission’s initiative on a “reparations loan” to Ukraine from frozen assets of the rf.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna believes that russia must stop its nuclear terror and return the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to Ukraine’s control.

“russia must immediately, unconditionally, and completely withdraw all its troops, military equipment, and other unauthorized personnel from the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) and the entire territory of Ukraine. Returning the ZNPP to the full control of the competent and legitimate Ukrainian authorities is the only lasting solution that will minimize the risk of a nuclear accident with global consequences,” said a Spokesperson for the EU’s Foreign Policy Service.

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President of Finland Alexander Stubb has expressed confidence that US President Donald Trump will increase pressure on putin. “Seeing that carrots rarely work with russians, he has moved on to the stick,” Stubb said.

“We are prepared for the fact that russia has a certain desire to disrupt the West with such drones,” said Minister of Defence of Finland Antti Hakkanen.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has said that Europe is “in confrontation with russia” and that “there should be no weakness”. “We are in confrontation with russia, which has been a very aggressive actor in our information space for several years, especially in the context of elections, which has increased cyberattacks, which has started a war of aggression in Ukraine, which uses nuclear threats, and which is now provoking in airspace,” the French President explained.

Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal believes that the recent air incidents caused by russia were an attempt to divert Europe’s attention from helping Ukraine. According to Michal, “putin wants to have us talking about ourselves, not about Ukraine, not about helping Ukraine, not to push back russia in Ukraine.”

Former President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė believes that lasting peace in Ukraine is impossible until russia abandons its imperial dreams, and that putin “will fight as long as he lives”.

All Czech visa centers in russia have ceased operations.

The Italian bank UniCredit – one of the last Western banks still operating in russia – will stop accepting new corporate clients and sharply increase its service fees. UniCredit Bank has announced that from October 1, it will more than triple its monthly service fees, from 4,900–6,900 rubles to 15,000–20,000 rubles. On December 1, 2025, the second stage of the rate increase will take place, raising fees to 30,000–40,000 rubles per month. At this, customers will not be allowed to sign up for any of these rate plans after October 1, 2025. For individuals, UniCredit previously suspended the reissue of credit cards and outgoing transfers in US dollars.

In the 2026 draft budget, the government of the rf has allocated an increase in funding for state television channels, media, and propaganda projects on the Internet to a new historic record of 146.3 billion rubles. Compared to the current year, spending on “mass media” will increase by 9.1 billion rubles, or 7 %, and compared to 2021 – by 28 %, or 32.4 billion rubles. As a result, their total volume will exceed the annual budgets of average russian regions (for example, 122 billion rubles in Vladimir region, 116 billion rubles in Kirov region, and 95 billion rubles in Bryansk region). On average, state propaganda will cost the budget 12.1 billion rubles per month, or 2.81 billion rubles per week, and state TV channels will remain the main recipients of funds.

The government of the rf has prepared a package of measures to start importing petrol from China and other Asian countries to compensate for the fuel shortage. In addition, the government plans to increase petrol imports from belarus and lift the ban on the use of monomethylaniline, an octane-boosting additive that increases production, by oil refineries. Due to its high toxicity and cancer risks, it is banned in most countries around the world. As of the end of September, 38 % of the country’s refinery capacity (338,000 tons per day) was idle.

The russian government intends to significantly reduce tax breaks for the IT industry. Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev has confirmed plans to increase insurance contribution rates for IT companies from 7.6 % to 15 % and to abolish VAT exemptions on the purchase of software from the domestic register. According to him, these measures are due to “existing budget constraints”.

In 2026–2028, the federal treasury expects to receive a record 936 billion rubles in fines, penalties, and compensation for damages. In 2026, such revenues should amount to 299.99 billion rubles, in 2027 – 312.09 billion, and in 2028 – another 324.06 billion. Compared to the plan adopted a year ago, laid down in the previous three-year budget law, the authorities’ “appetite” for collecting fines has increased 1.5 times. At that time, the government expected to fine citizens and businesses 197.3 billion rubles in 2026 and 203.8 billion rubles in 2027. These amounts have increased by 102 and 109 billion rubles, respectively.

A law on the introduction of ration coupons throughout russia has been submitted to the state duma.

Mass layoffs have begun at AvtoVAZ due to salary cuts.

In 2024, one in nine (11.3 %) residents of the rf did not have access to quality drinking water from centralized water supply systems. At the same time, the consumption of contaminated water last year led to 11,000 deaths and 1.4 million people falling ill.

The ministry of internal affairs of the rf has developed requirements for deportation prisons that are identical to those for strict regime colonies.

The film “Tolerance”, starring propagandist Zakhar Prilepin, was a complete box office flop. An average of three people attended each screening, and by the end of September, the film had been pulled from cinemas. People simply weren’t buying tickets. The film, which tells about the “decaying” West and the “dangers” of liberalism, grossed only $900. The film was financed by the ministry of culture. The budget was at least $2.5 million.

During his sermon, Archpriest of the russian orthodox church Sergei Baranov stated that parents should resort to physical punishment of their children, otherwise the latter will grow up to be idiots.

In Syzran, former head of the pre-trial detention center Vitaly Ryazantsev has been appointed head of the Children’s Leisure and Health Center, which organizes recreation in the camps “Yunost”, “Planeta Druzhby”, “Salyut”, “Rassvet” and "Druzhniye Rebyata”. The mayor’ s office emphasized that “Vitaly Viktorovich has extensive experience in management. The Lieutenant Colonel of the internal service previously headed SIZO-2 of the federal penitentiary service of russia in Samara region”.

Children from Ukraine who are transported to belarus by the authorities in Minsk are “extremely vulnerable to human trafficking”, reads the section on belarus in the 25th report of the United States Department of State. Among other things, the US agency recommends “ending the organized transfer of Ukrainian children to belarus” and taking all necessary measures to “prevent human trafficking among this population, including ensuring the safe return of these children to their parents or guardians”.

The list of countries where “human trafficking within government-funded programs, forced labor in state-related health care and other sectors, sexual slavery, and the use or recruitment of children as soldiers” has been documented in the US report, which apart from belarus, includes Afghanistan, Iran, north korea, Cuba, russia, Sudan, Eritrea, and South Sudan.

In the rb, the foreign trade deficit in goods increased by $3.79 billion in August.

The debt of individuals on consumer loans in belarus increased by 29.1% over the year.

In August, organizations in belarus again laid off more people than they hired. A total of 508,260 people were hired, while 535,900 were laid off. So, they fired by 27.66 thousand people more than hired.

In September 2025, 140 people – 100 men and 40 women – were added to the list of individuals whom belarusian authorities consider to be involved in “extremist activities”. Among them there are nine pensioners aged 60 and older.

The ministry of information of the rb has added Timothy Snyder’s book “On Freedom” to the list of extremist materials. The list also includes ten books by Scottish author Irvine Welsh, which, according to the ministry, could harm national interests. In total, there are now 173 items on the list.