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

G7 ambassadors held an emergency meeting with representatives of Ukraine’s energy sector to discuss assistance to our country in response to russia’s attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.

German defense company Rheinmetall will provide Ukraine with additional Skyranger 35 air defense systems, which will be financed from russia’s frozen assets.

The United Kingdom has transferred hundreds of air defense missiles to Ukraine five months ahead of schedule. “The United Kingdom is strengthening its unwavering commitment to help Ukraine defend itself against russia’s illegal invasion. This year alone, we are spending £4.5 billion on military support for Ukraine, more than ever before,” said UK Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard.

Ukraine and the United Kingdom plan to start joint production of interceptor drones to combat swarms of Shahed-type drones – the project, called Octopus, is currently under negotiation and could be implemented in the coming months.

US President Donald Trump has stated that he and his NATO allies are increasing pressure on the rf.

“We have capabilities that are not currently being used on the battlefield in Ukraine, which are terrifying, powerful, and can literally cause serious damage at a place and time of our choosing,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker assured that his country has weapons that can force russia to the negotiating table. According to him, the allies continue to put pressure on the rf.

Minister of Finance of the FRG Lars Klingbeil has expressed confidence that frozen russian assets will soon be used to greater benefit for Ukraine.

Minister of Finance of Sweden Elisabeth Svantesson has said that the European Union should push forward with a proposal to use frozen russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine, given the lack of other options.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands David van Weel has called for increased pressure on russia over its new wave of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

“The European Parliament... calls for lifting of restrictions on the use of Western weapons systems transferred to Ukraine against military targets on russia’s territory, as it is from those that attacks are being carried out on the Ukrainian population and critical civilian infrastructure,” says the European Parliament’s resolution.

“The war in Ukraine continues every day. Civilians are dying. Children are dying. These are unforgivable war crimes committed by russia. I believe that the day will come when they will pay for this,” said the European Union’s Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova in response to russia’s massive attack on Ukraine on the night of October 10. She also said that European leaders are currently discussing how to circumvent Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s further movement towards the European Union. According to her, despite systematic russian attacks, the EU representation in Kyiv will not change the format of its work, and the embassies of other countries will maintain their current staffing levels.

“We have additional capacities both for Ukraine and Moldova, and we will continue to provide assistance. Intensive discussions are currently ongoing, and Ukraine can rely on our support in the coming months as the weather gets colder,” said European Commission Spokesperson Anna Kaisa Itkonen regarding EU aid to Ukraine in winter.

The EU has announced the launch of three new projects worth a total of EUR 6.6 million aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s independent media sector.

Since August 2023, more than 146 million tons of cargo have been transported through the Ukrainian Sea Corridor.

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Chargé d'Affaires of the United States in Serbia Alexander Titolo has said that US sanctions against the energy company NIS are not directed against the Serbian people, but are intended to put pressure on russia to end its war in Ukraine.

India will soon begin to buy less russian oil. “We have imposed a 25 % tariff on India because of russian oil. I think we will soon see a shift in the balance, namely, they will start buying less of the russian oil and more of the American oil,” said US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

The first-ever russian-Arab summit, which putin announced in May, inviting all the leaders of the Arab League to moscow, was canceled after key guests failed to confirm their visits. Only a few of the 22 Arab League leaders accepted the invitation.

The positive foreign trade balance of the rf in January–August 2025 decreased by 14.1 % compared to January–August 2024. Exports of goods from russia in January–August 2025 decreased by 5.2 % year-on-year, while imports decreased by 0.1 %. russia’s foreign trade turnover in January–August 2025 decreased by 3.2 % compared to January–August 2024. Exports of goods from russia to Europe in January–August 2025 decreased by 14.3 %, to Asia – by 2.7 %, and to Africa – by 14.9 %.

The government of the rf plans to cut 1.6 times the funding for the “Aircraft and Helicopter Production” program in 2026, from 139.6 billion to 85.7 billion rubles. In 2027, spending will also decrease, from 109.7 billion to 86.9 billion rubles (a 21 % decrease). The largest cuts will affect state support for airlines that are renewing their fleets for domestic transport: in 2026, subsidies will disappear completely, while in 2025 they amounted to 1.3 billion rubles after being reduced from the initial 4.1 billion. Compensation for aircraft maintenance costs will also decrease, from 6.1 billion in 2025 to 3.6 billion in 2026.

Cargo turnover at russian seaports in January–September 2025 decreased by 2.3 % compared to the same period in 2024.

The largest russian companies are sending employees on unpaid leave or reducing staff amid an economic slowdown, falling domestic demand, and declining exports. This has affected the personnel of the RZD, AvtoVAZ, GAZ, KAMAZ, “Mechel”, “Alrosa”, and others.

Following car manufacturers, which have faced a collapse in sales, Uralvagonzavod – russia’s largest manufacturer of railway cars and the main supplier of tanks to the army – is switching to a four-day working week. The reason for this is a fall in demand for rolling stock. The plant’s main customer – RZD – has cut its budget for railway cars and locomotives due to a sharp deterioration in its financial condition and the largest drop in freight traffic in 14 years.

russia’s spending on the creation of a national modular platform for automobile production is planned to be reduced 51 times from the initially planned 25.6 billion rubles to 0.5 billion rubles at the end of this year.

Imports of new trucks to russia in September decreased 20-fold compared to last year. The total volume of truck imports for the first nine months of this year also showed a 92 % decline. The main reasons for the decline in imports are a significant decline in the car market (-55 %) and large inventories.

The use of mandatory biometric identification through the Unified Biometric System threatens the existence of most microfinance organizations in the rf. Only 10 % of companies will be able to afford investments of 40-60 million rubles to connect to the system, while the target audience of MFOs does not use biometrics on a large scale. As a result, MFOs will lose up to 80 % of their customers.

In the first half of 2025, the average salary in russia rose to 96,000 rubles, and the average pension – to 23,000 rubles. Thus, pension payments amounted to only 24 % of the level of earnings, and the ratio between salaries and pensions was the lowest in the last 17 years. The last time pensions fell below 25 % of the average salary was in 2008, when the average salary was 16,000 rubles while pension payments were slightly less than 4,000 rubles.

In russia, the price of secondary housing increased by 5.5 %. Over the year, the price per square meter of finished housing rose in 64 out of 70 cities. The leaders in price growth were Kursk (+36.1 %), Izhevsk (+16.2 %), Perm (+13.8 %), Cherepovets (+12.4 %), and Kaliningrad (+11.1 %). In moscow, prices rose by 5.2 %, and in St. Petersburg – by 10 %. The total cost of an apartment has increased in 59 cities since October 2024. The leaders here are also Kursk (+38.5 %), Izhevsk (+19.6 %), Perm (+15.8 %), as well as Vologda (+14 %) and Orenburg (+13.4 %). The supply of apartments on the regular market has decreased by 22 % over the year. Many owners have withdrawn their ads due to the inability to sell their apartments in a stagnant market.

The cost of petrol and diesel fuel continues to remain at record highs on the St. Petersburg International Commodity Exchange. This week, the price of AI-92 according to the index of the European part of the rf exceeded 74 thousand rubles per ton and has not fallen below this mark. The exchange price of AI-92 has been at historically high levels since mid-September. The previous record price for this type of fuel was set in August 2025 at 72,663 rubles per ton.

The share of workers of retirement and pre-retirement age in russia increased by 30 % in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

The rf’s authorities have launched a full-scale electronic summons registry and have begun to massively restrict travel abroad for anyone who has been issued documents by the military commissariats. The ban takes effect immediately after the summons is added to the digital register. At this, if a citizen fails to show up within 27 days, he will be considered a draft dodger. He will lose the right to drive a car, the ability to register as self-employed or an individual entrepreneur, and the ability to take out a loan. Any transactions involving his property will be frozen.

russia’s Supreme Court has recommended that lower courts not take mitigating circumstances into account when sentencing in cases of “high treason”.

Police and prosecutors in the rf’s regions have been instructed to drastically reduce the “unemployed population”.

Member of the state duma Yana Lantratova has stated that children’s toys are being used as a tool to influence children. According to her, “coffins, heads popping out of toilets” and “blue monsters with smiles” are appearing on store shelves. She claims that such products “blur the lines between good and evil” and are part of the “West’s information war”. Lantratova has said that she sent a request to the prosecutor general’s office demanding that the manufacturer of Barbie dolls, Mattel, be recognized as extremist “for supporting Ukraine”. Lawmakers have already prepared a draft law to ban the sale of such toys. The industry has reacted skeptically to the initiative: 91 % of toys in russia are imported, and manufacturers doubt that restrictions can be implemented without consequences for the market.

The management of budgetary cultural institutions in the rf conducts fictitious film screenings without visitors in order to meet state attendance targets. State cultural organizations are forced to resort to such measures, otherwise their managers face demotion. State-funded cinemas operate within the framework of the national project “Culture”. According to this project, state organizations had to increase the number of visits to cultural events threefold compared to 2019.

Local residents in the temporarily occupied Crimea report that they cannot buy petrol. It is increasingly falling into the hands of the russian military, leaving civilians with nothing. According to experts, the fuel situation will only worsen. Local residents are advised to prepare for a complete petrol collapse.

Public transport fares in Yekaterinburg have risen sharply from 33 to 42 rubles. The mayor cited increased costs for transport operators as the reason for the increase. However, just a month ago, he assured residents that fares would not be raised until the citizens “noticed qualitative changes in transport services”.

Yekaterinburg may lose regional and federal co-financing for road repairs.

The shortage of doctors in Kemerovo region has reached 29 %. To fully staff the region’s hospitals and clinics, about 5,800 specialists are needed.

Authorities in Buryatia have banned residents from eating marmots.

The European Union “has committed to prioritizing support for human rights, civil society, and independent media in belarus over the next two years, recognizing those areas as vital to a democratic future”, reads a press release from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood.

lukashenko is contributing to russia’s war against Ukraine and threatening regional security. Our approach is clear: isolation and constant pressure, including tough sanctions, – said Director of the Bilateral Relations Department at the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Uldis Mikuts.

During lukashenko’s 30 years in power, around 350 people in belarus have been sentenced to the highest penalty. The rb remains the only country in Europe where death sentences are still carried out.

Another 18 people have been recognized as political prisoners in belarus. As of today, 1,222 people have the status of political prisoners.

Queues from belarus to the EU have grown even longer. More than 6,000 vehicles are expected to enter the European Union before the weekend.

Consumer prices in the rb rose by 0.5 % in September and by 7.1 % year-on-year.