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

The European Commission is considering the possibility of other countries on whose territories there are frozen russian assets participating in providing “reparations loans” to Ukraine, and plans to raise this issue at the level of G7.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has said that Ukraine’s partners should focus on three main areas of military support for our country: air defense, unmanned systems, and long-range capabilities.

“I think everyone underestimated what a big threat russia really is... We need to speed up and scale up... My hope is that everybody will recognize that we have to look at Ukraine as the first line of defence. So, everything we do in Ukraine is defending ourselves and the rest of Europe,” emphasized Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen. She is also convinced that, against the background of russia’ hybrid war, Europe should borrow all of Ukraine’s defense experience.

On October 15, the United Kingdom and Germany are convening a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO Headquarters.

“Now it is the EU’s turn to fulfill its obligations. After all, enlargement is a merit-based process. And enlargement will make Europe stronger,” says President of the European Council António Costa, insisting that the EU must fulfill its obligations regarding Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola stresses that the EU must start accession negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova by the end of this year.

European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Marta Kos has emphasized that Ukraine and Moldova must jointly open the first negotiation cluster within the EU accession process.

MGI Engineering (United Kingdom) has announced plans to send inexpensive medium-range strike drones to Ukraine.

Ukraine has received EUR 170 million for housing programs from the Council of Europe Development Bank.

PACE has adopted a resolution entitled “Journalists matter: the need to step up efforts to liberate Ukrainian journalists held in captivity by the Russian Federation”, which calls for the release of 26 Ukrainian journalists from russian captivity. MEPs have also approved a draft Convention on the establishment of an international commission to examine Ukraine’s claims against russia.

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"We are closely monitoring media reports on this issue and have seen signs that russia is indeed planning to nationalize and sell off assets belonging to foreigners. Our position is that this clearly shows one thing: namely, that our sanctions against russia are working very effectively,” said Spokesperson for European Commission Thomas Renier regarding russian officials’ statements about the possibility of nationalization of European assets in russia.

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen has said that European countries should recognize the reality of the threat posed by russia with its imperial ambitions and act accordingly. “I know that for some of you, the threat from russia is very obvious, while for others it seems distant. But we can no longer be naive. This war has never been just about Ukraine. It is about Europe,” she stressed.

“In recent weeks, we have seen that putin’s appetites are not limited to strikes on Ukraine. russia is resorting to various interventions across Europe, whether in our airspace, through cyberattacks, or other attacks that continue unabated,” said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk has said that incidents in the Baltic Sea occur almost daily and called this a new type of warfare.

Prime Minister of France Sébastien Lecornu has said that French law enforcement officers detained two crew members of the tanker Boracay, which they consider to be a ship of the russian “shadow fleet”.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has called for the shooting down of drones and aircraft that intrude into NATO airspace.

Kazakhstan’s customs authorities have begun inspecting 99 % of trucks carrying potentially sanctioned goods from China to russia.

Tax increases have proved insufficient to finance the war. The government of the rf has prepared for large-scale borrowing to balance the budget for this year and the next three years: the cumulative deficit for four years is 14.2 trillion rubles. This year’s borrowing program has been urgently increased by 2.2 trillion rubles, and the ministry of finance also plans to borrow actively in 2026–2028. As a result, in 2028, domestic public debt will grow to 47.4 trillion rubles, and total debt – to 53.8 trillion, as shown by the draft three-year budget. This is 2 and 1.9 times more than at the beginning of this year. According to the 2025 draft, the government will increase the debt by 5.43 trillion rubles. Next year, it plans to borrow 3.98 trillion rubles, in 2027 – 3.79 trillion, and in 2028 – 4.57 trillion. Total: 17.7 trillion rubles over four years. Taking into account state guarantees, the total domestic public debt is expected to increase by 23.7 trillion rubles in 2025-2028.

putin’s aide, head of the Maritime Collegium Nikolai Patrushev has admitted that the unsatisfactory technical condition of the russian research fleet is leading to a decline in russia’s competitiveness in the field of marine bioresource development.

Waste disposal tariffs in russia are set to increase tenfold due to a lack of waste processing plants and the high cost of transporting waste to landfills.

The authorities of unrecognized Transnistria have announced a “gas saving” regime after moscow stopped funding.

The exchange value of AI-95 petrol in wholesale has reached 80,000 rubles per ton, according to data from the St. Petersburg Exchange.

The number of taxis in russia will drop sharply after the law comes into force requiring only domestic cars to be used for transportation. From March 1, 2026, when the new requirement takes effect, more than 97,000 leased cars will not be able to be re-registered to continue operating as taxis. In fact, all cars leased by taxi companies between 2022 and 2025 are at risk.

Smartphone sales in russia have fallen by 25 %. The decline in sales is due to russians’ switching to “economy regime”.

In 2025, JSC Holding Company “Siberian Cement” will see a 16 % decline in cement sales.

russian clothing manufacturer Yollo, which was planning to replace some of Western brands that left the country, may cease operations. The company is preparing to close its shops and is negotiating with landlords on the terms under which it will vacate its retail space in shopping centers. Several Yollo shops already closed at the end of September.

A draft law has been submitted to the state duma which would allow vacant apartments to be recognized as municipal property. This concerns thousands of apartments across the country, especially in Siberia and the North.

Children of migrants who have not enrolled in russian schools will be registered with the ministry of internal affairs of the rf. The relevant draft law is already under the government’s consideration.

Minister of construction and housing and communal services Irek Faizullin has proposed introducing compulsory work experience for graduates of state-funded construction universities, citing similar measures already in place for medical professionals.

The money of deceased russians who have no heirs should be confiscated and transferred to the rf treasury. This initiative was put forward by Andrey Ryabokon, an member of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, and supported by Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the state duma committee on financial markets.

The MAX messenger began to massively block users who disabled tracking functions.

Pro-government robots began to massively convince russians that there is no petrol shortage in russia and that the growth of   fuel prices is “normal”.

russians undergoing compulsory military service began to be lectured en masse about the dangers of abortion. At the same time, conscripts are being persuaded that God is the author of a human.

Lithuania has decided to extend the closure of its airspace along part of its border with belarus until December 1. The airspace was closed in August.

Today, one in five residents of belarus (18 % of the population, or 1.63 million people) is over 65 years of age. By 2030, this figure will reach 20 %.

In January–August, the debt of the rb’s public sector on loans increased by 14.3 % year-on-year.

In the five years following the presidential election on August 9, 2020, and until September 30, 2025, at least 1,970 NGOs—associations, trade unions, foundations, non-governmental institutions, and associations—were liquidated in belarus.

Leningrad region and belarus have agreed to create a permanent rehabilitation program for so-called “fighters in the special military operation”. It is planned that at least 800 people – military servicemen who participated in russia’s aggression against Ukraine and their family members – will undergo treatment and rehabilitation in belarus each year as part of this initiative.