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

Poland is adding $100 million to the NATO PURL initiative to purchase American weapons for Ukraine. “One million dollars for every centimeter of Polish railway track blown up by russian saboteurs,” commented Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski. He also believes that the decision to provide financial assistance to Ukraine in 2026-2027 could determine the outcome of the war, as it could prompt putin to conclude a peace agreement.

The governments of Australia and New Zealand have decided to provide Ukraine with additional military support worth a total of more than $70 million.

The Netherlands is allocating EUR 35 million in “winter” support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Germany is allocating additional EUR 100 million through the KfW development bank to restore Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Chancellor of the FRG Friedrich Merz supported the European Commission’s proposal to continue holding russian frozen assets and said that all EU countries should jointly bear the financial risks of using these funds to help Ukraine.

“Ukraine should never be vulnerable to future attacks. It must have reliable security guarantees that will ensure its future and peace on the continent. We will continue to coordinate our efforts in this direction with Ukraine and our American friends, as well as all our partners, to create conditions that will respect Ukraine’s sovereignty,” said France’s Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Addad.

“I call on all of us to support Ukraine in achieving a just and lasting peace as soon as possible. Because I am convinced that the way this war ends and its legitimacy under international law and the OSCE principles will decisively shape the future of peace and stability across the OSCE region, and beyond,” – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland and current OSCE Chair Elina Valtonen said that the Organization needs to reform in order to be able to fulfill its role in the future.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has ruled out a scenario in which the USA would stop supporting Ukraine, which would require an alternative plan from the Alliance.

President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides has said that a peace agreement must be based on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that peace efforts should help promote “effective and substantial” support for our country. At the same time, he expressed his readiness to provide assistance to Ukraine during his presidency of the EU Council.

“President Trump’s efforts and Ukraine’s constructive, principled position have brought real progress in recent weeks. The agreement could be historic and a turning point for European security, but it will be difficult. putin has repeatedly broken his word, and so far there are no signs that he is ready to negotiate in good faith,” said representative of the United Kingdom Stephen Doughty at the plenary meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna.

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution demanding to put an end to russia’s forced relocation of Ukrainian children. belarus was among the countries that voted against it, along with burkina faso, burundi, cuba, north korea, eritrea, iran, mali, nicaragua, niger, russia, and sudan.

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“The GRU, russia’s military intelligence service, is now fully subject to UK sanctions. GRU agents carry out putin’s orders, seeking to destabilize Ukraine and sow chaos and disorder across Europe,” The United Kingdom announced new sanctions against russia after releasing the final report on the investigation into the death of British citizen Dawn Sturgess after she was poisoned with the nerve agent “Novichok” in 2018.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has assured that russia will experience the Alliance’s response to its “hybrid attacks”, which have recently intensified in different countries of the Bloc.

The UK and Norway are signing a large-scale defense cooperation agreement to protect underwater infrastructure, which provides for joint activities of the navies of both countries in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. The agreement provides for joint patrols involving at least 13 ships and autonomous systems. Their key task will be to monitor the activities of russian submarines and ensure the protection of critical infrastructure of both countries at sea.

“...russia has become a multifaceted threat, persistent and long-term for all its neighbors in Europe and beyond. The future of Europe and NATO depends on russia’s choice to escalate relations with all European countries,” said Minister for European Affairs of France Benjamin Addad.

“All of Europe is under threat. russia has intensified its harmful and dangerous activities on land, at sea, and in the air. It is waging a psychological and, in some cases, physical conflict against all of us. It is trying to drive a wedge between the two sides of the Atlantic, while undermining trust and sowing fear in European societies,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski has announced that the russia-NATO Council, established in 2002, has been officially dissolved. He has also stressed that russia regularly violates OSCE principles and therefore has no place at the Organization’s table.

Finnish car manufacturer Valmet Automotive and defense company Patria have signed an agreement on joint production of armored vehicles in response to threats from the rf.

From January 1, 2026, VAT on books and press in russian in Latvia will be 21 %. For publications in Latvian, as well as in the languages of EU and OECD member states, the reduced rate of 5 % will remain in place.

The decline in oil and gas revenues in the federal budget accelerated again in November. Over the month, the treasury collected 530.9 billion rubles in raw material taxes – by 34 % less than a year earlier. Revenues from the key mineral extraction tax fell by 36 %, and export duties – by almost 40 %.

According to the rf ministry of finance’s forecast, oil and gas revenues in December will fall short of the baseline, and this will have to be offset by sales of currency and gold from the National Wealth Fund. In total, over the month (from December 5 to January 15), currency worth 123.4 billion rubles, or 5.6 billion per day, will be sold.

Seaborne oil exports from russia decreased by 11.5 % in November.

In January–September 2025, russian banks issued by 44 % fewer mortgage loans than in the first nine months of last year.

80 % of shopping centers in the rf saw a decline in traffic this year, with 60 % of them experiencing a 10 % decrease in visitor numbers. The decline in turnover affected almost 70 % of shopping centers, with one in five experiencing a critical decrease of  more than 20 %.

Shareholders of aluminum giant “Rusal” decided not to pay dividends for the first nine months of this year.

Since the beginning of 2025, russians have filed 26,000 complaints with “rostrud” about non-payment of wages, which is 1.6 times more than in 2024 (+11,000). Over the past year, overdue wage arrears in russia have more than tripled, having reached 2.2 billion rubles at the end of October. In one month, wage arrears increased by 11 %.

In November 2025, by 47 % fewer new “moskvich” cars were sold in russia than in the same month last year – only 1,400. At the same time, due to the introduction of increased scrap fees on December 1, imports of used cars to russia in November 2025 increased by 83 %.

roskomnadzor has imposed restrictions on the operation in russia of Apple’s FaceTime video communication service.

russia’s authorities have removed detailed statistics on the number of disabled people in the country from public access amid a sharp increase in the number of people wounded in the war against Ukraine, estimated at hundreds of thousands.

russian courts have dismissed at least 1,112 criminal cases against defendants who signed contracts to participate in the war against Ukraine or were already fighting at the time of the crime.

The number of participants in the so-called “special military operation” and their children who occupy budget places in higher education institutions has been growing for the fourth year in a row. While in 2022 there were fewer than 2,000 of them, in 2023 there were 9,000, and in 2024 – 15,000. This year, the figure has risen to 28,700 people. Another 20,000 participants in the “special military operation” program and their children are enrolled in colleges. If they are expelled for poor academic performance, they will be able to re-enter the same institution.

The number of russian schoolchildren sent to secondary vocational education (SVE) institutions has reached a record high in the last 50 years. In 2025, about 1.3 million people were enrolled in colleges and technical schools, and the total number of students in the SVE system is now 3.9 million.

Mayor of moscow Sergei Sobyanin has announced a shortage of personnel in all sectors of the russian capital’s economy, estimating the deficit at approximately 500,000 professionals.

The cost of air tickets within russia with departure on January 1 has increased by 71 % compared to the same period last year.

The production of cartoons and films for teenagers is to be transferred to full state funding for total control of content and the promotion of russian “traditional family values”.

Lithuania has extended the closure of part of its airspace bordering on belarus until February 2026.