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

The next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing will take place on December 11.

President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde has pointed out that the European Union’s proposal to freeze russian assets indefinitely to help Ukraine is the closest to the requirements of international law in this matter.

On December 16, the European Union will join the International Commission for the Consideration of Ukraine’s Claims against russia, which is being created as part of the Register of Damage Caused to Ukraine and Ukrainians by russia’s Aggression.

“...We will proceed with our international partners as quickly as possible with the formal establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine,” said European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath.

The European Commission proposes to use funds related to blocked russian assets to create a fund which will pay reparations to Ukrainians for damages caused by russia’s aggression.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen has called for support for Ukraine in achieving a just and lasting peace, as the end of the russian-Ukrainian war will have a decisive impact on the future of peace and stability not only in Europe but throughout the world.

“We clearly see Ukraine’s integration into the European Union as a key aspect of security – not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe,” said Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova.

“russia continues to wage a war of aggression against Ukraine with increasing intensity, showing no signs of a serious desire for peace. The rf is stepping up its attacks, cynically destroying energy infrastructure as winter approaches and attacking civilians: women, children, and humanitarian workers,” said Ambassador of the EU to the UN Stavros Lambrinidis.

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Permanent Representatives of the EU member states have agreed to impose new sanctions against russia. The EU will impose restrictions on nine individuals and companies that contribute to russia’s “shadow fleet”. Besides, 43 more ships from russia’s “shadow fleet” will be added to the “blacklist”. The Ambassadors have also agreed to impose sanctions on 12 individuals and two organizations that destabilize the EU. Among them – russian military intelligence officers and members of the Valdai Club.

EU Ambassadors have approved the Bloc’s plan to phase out russian gas imports by the end of 2027, overcoming one of the last legal barriers to passing the ban into law.

The United Kingdom has added aleksandr dugin, the ideologist of the “russian world”, and mikhail zvinchuk, a former employee of the russian ministry of defense’s press service, to its sanctions list. In addition, five organizations have been subject to restrictions. Those include the center for geopolitical expertise founded by dugin, zvinchuk’s project “Rybar” along with the Telegram channel of the same name, the “Fund for the protection and support of the rights of compatriots living abroad” created by the ministry of foreign affairs of the rf and “rossotrudnichestvo”, as well as the russian-language media projects Golos and Euromore, based in Belgium.

The Military Counterintelligence Service of the FRG (MAD) has reported a record increase in intelligence and subversive activities by foreign states in the country. This is stated in the agency’s annual report. The report emphasizes that the main sources of threats are russia and China.

According to Denmark’s Intelligence, “The military threat from russia to NATO will grow”.

Against the background of russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank, Finland has purchased hundreds of devices for jamming and detecting drones.

Four of India’s seven largest oil refining companies have begun to reduce purchases of russian oil and have shifted their focus to supplies from countries not subject to sanctions. At this, Reliance Industries – India’s largest buyer of russian oil – has virtually disappeared from the market. The conglomerate is suspending purchases even under a long-term contract with “Rosneft” for about 500,000 barrels per day. The company seeks to minimize the risk of secondary sanctions from the USA and the European Union. Reliance is to receive the last batch of russian oil on December 17, after which no new deliveries are expected.

The prosecutor general’s office of the rf is demanding that the activities of the American company NCH Capital – the main owner of one of the large agricultural holdings, Agroterra – be banned and that it be recognized as extremist, since NCH refused to sell the agricultural holding to the kremlin. The large grain holding company, which operates in seven regions – Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Penza, Ryazan, Tambov, and Tula – unites 24 farms and 19 elevators with a storage capacity of about 500,000 tons.

russia’s largest food retailers opened by 30 % fewer new shops in January-September 2025 than a year earlier. The total increase in retail space fell by almost 10 %, which was a record decline in several years. The slowdown was caused by a decline in consumer activity.

The volume of new business for leasing companies in russia fell by 47.7 % in January–September 2025. Nine out of ten of the largest segments showed a decline. The largest drop in monetary terms was recorded in the truck segment, minus 513 billion rubles (-67 %). The railway (-56.5 %) and construction equipment (-46.7 %) segments also declined significantly.

By the end of 2026, about 150 microloan companies may leave the russian market, which is more than 15 % of MFOs.

“Lada” sales in russia have decreased by 27 % since the beginning of the year.

In the rf, finished rolled steel production decreased by 4.8 % over 11 months.

“rosfinmonitoring” will have access to data on money transfers made through the fast payment system, using “mir” cards and a single QR code.

Members of the state duma have passed a draft law allowing russians subject to conscription to be punished throughout the year for failing to notify the military authorities of their relocation. Previously, liability for such a violation only applied during the official conscription period, which, according to the law that came into force in November, will now also be conducted throughout the year.

The state duma has passed a law on clear-cutting in the Baikal ecological zone. Experts have already called this initiative “the funeral of the sacred lake”. For his part, speaker of the state duma Vyacheslav Volodin has said that Greenpeace is to blame for the state of Lake Baikal.

deputy chairman of the state duma committee on economic policy Mikhail Delyagin has proposed that roskomnadzor check the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series of games for russophobia and ban them. The reason is that russian soldiers are shot at in the game.

The russian government plans to ban international incoming calls without the subscriber’s consent; such calls will be marked accordingly.

In russia, there is a number of systemic problems in the field of subsidized medicines provision, related in particular to the untimely purchase of medicines by regions. Besides, there are problems with prescriptions registered in pharmacies for deferred supply.

“Foreign agents” in russia should be banned from any public appearances and publications, – said Igor Borisov, a member of the rf’s Central Election Commission.

Courts in russia, both military and civilian, have convicted 8,000 current and former participants in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by russian troops. These are only “civil cases”, meaning that cases related to military service, such as unauthorized absence from duty or desertion, are not included in this statistics. Most of the verdicts, about 7,000, were handed down by courts of general jurisdiction, i.e., against “veterans” who had already returned home. Another 1,000 cases were heard by military courts, which try active-duty military personnel. More than 900 “veterans” were convicted of violent crimes – murder and assault. Besides, they were tried under articles related to theft, kidnapping, and other property damage (3,000 people), drug trafficking (1,500), and fraud (almost 400 people).

Workers involved in the development of the Volkovskoye deposit – one of the largest in russia in terms of copper-iron-vanadium ore reserves – have complained about a two-month delay in wages.

In Yakutsk, a “Citizen’s Code” has been developed – a set of rules of conduct for local residents. The postulates include: pay your bills on time, especially for housing and communal services, and don’t freeze to death drunk in a snowdrift.

The authorities in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky have announced the start of collecting “voluntary contributions” from residents and companies to replenish the city budget. The amount of donations is “unlimited”. In this way, the authorities are trying to shift their responsibilities onto citizens who already pay taxes.

In st. petersburg, the ban on the employment of foreign citizens as taxi drivers and delivery service employees has been extended until the end of 2026.

No new shopping centers will open in st. petersburg in 2026.

Representatives of the European Union countries at the EU Council agreed to expand sanctions against belarus in response to the incursions of smugglers’ weather balloons into Lithuania. Official approval of the measures is expected next week.

Annual inflation in belarus accelerated to 7 % in November. Annual food inflation remains at only about 10 %. The growth in prices for fruit and vegetable products (seasonal goods) accelerated to 12.7 % last month. State-regulated prices and tariffs rose by 6.2 %.

Based on the results for January-October 2025, belarus remained in last place in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in terms of agricultural production dynamics.