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

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on Europe to continue supporting Ukraine and increase defense spending by NATO members in line with the commitments agreed at the Alliance summit in The Hague. “If we do these two things, we will be strong enough to defend ourselves, and putin will never try (to attack),” said Rutte.

“We are constantly monitoring them (the russians); for example, we have many different reports from Narva, which is a border town. Let me be clear: if the little green men ever cross our border, we will shoot them. Those will be the consequences; there is no room for discussion here. If russia is not sure that we will actually respond, they can test us,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna.

Authorities of the Belgian province of Flanders have decided to allocate EUR 250,000 to support Ukraine’s cultural sector.

“russia means war, not peace. The butcher in the kremlin has not changed his goals. Disinformation campaigns cannot hide russia’s actions. We will continue to support Ukraine,” – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Baiba Braže expressed solidarity with Ukraine after the massive russian shelling on December 23.

Lithuania’s Seimas has approved amendments to the law that expand the powers of Lithuanian intelligence officers – in particular, they will be given the right to purchase and use explosives, secretly obtain fingerprints, and monitor individuals without court permission for a certain period of time. The amendments stipulate that the task of Lithuanian intelligence is not only to predict and identify external risks, dangers, and threats, as is currently the case, but also to eliminate them.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for russia to find buyers for its oil. The volume of oil stored in tankers has increased almost 1.5 times since August. At least 20 tankers with russian oil have gathered near Chinese and Indian ports, having not received permission to unload. As a result, since the end of August,  the volume of oil at sea has increased by 48 % to 185 million barrels.

For the second year in a row, russia’s weekly spending on the war against Ukraine exceeds the annual budgets of most russian regions. War spending is three times higher than spending on economic development and four times higher than spending on education and healthcare combined.

Military spending in 2025 was the highest since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine – almost 13.5 trillion rubles, or 259.4 billion rubles per week. This is more than the budgets of 62 regions of the country.

27 regions spend less per year than what is needed for three days of combat operations. These are mainly regions in central russia and the northwest (Ivanovo, Tambov, Kostroma, Orel, Pskov, and Smolensk regions), as well as national republics (Mordovia, Mari El, Tyva, Khakassia, Altai), including the North Caucasus (Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia –Alania, Ingushetia).

Three other regions have annual budgets that are less than what the russian government spends on the war in a single day: Kalmykia (34.9 billion rubles), the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (33.8 billion rubles), and the Jewish Autonomous Region (27.1 billion rubles).

In 2026, russia’s military spending will amount to 12.9 trillion rubles – almost 30 % of the country’s total budget.

The government of the rf considers a banking crisis in russia to be a real threat as loan defaults increase, the economy slows down, while Western sanctions intensify and hit the country’s largest oil companies.

From January 1, 2026, russian banks forecast an increase in the number of negative decisions on car loans. Up to 40 % of potential borrowers may fail the check. Not only citizens with unofficial income may be subject to restrictions, but also law enforcement officers if they apply for a loan from third-party financial organizations that are not their salary partners.

The government of the rf is suspending all obligations under the concession agreement for the construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway – a railway corridor in the Arctic. The cost of the project, including a bridge across the Ob River, exceeds 800 billion rubles, but there is no money in the budget for the project.

The federal tax service of the rf is demanding that dozens of companies involved in the construction of motorways additionally pay a total of 9.5 billion rubles to the budget. Approximately 30 % of construction companies facing additional charges have already declared bankruptcy. Another 30 % will face the same fate in 2026.

The number of public catering establishments in russia continues to decline. In November 2025, their number decreased by 3.1 % year-on-year, i.e., to 115,000. The most noticeable decline was recorded in the sushi bar and pizzeria segments, where the number of outlets decreased by 7.5 % and 6.4 %, respectively. One of the reasons for the decline in public catering outlets is the collapse of the restaurant businesses’ margins. While a few years ago, profitability averaged 20-25 %, it is now 10-12 %. The industry is also affected by rising costs of labor, rent, and food, as well as “more cautious consumer behavior”.

In January–November 2025, the number of new licenses issued in russia for the sale of strong alcohol in retail and public catering decreased by a quarter year-on-year, to 10,500. This was first of all due to a decline in demand for such products as a result of price increases.

In November 2025, russians purchased 1,590 used electric cars. Compared to October, the secondary market for electric cars shrank by 27 %.

The russians’ total mortgage debt reached 23.3 trillion rubles at the beginning of December. In November, the indicator grew by 1.4 % month-on-month and by 6.7 % year-on-year.

Since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, at least 34 people in russia, including executives and top managers of defense companies, have been brought to criminal responsibility for disrupting state defense orders.

Thousands of russian citizens, suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses, cannot travel to treatment facilities because regional authorities refuse to pay for their travel to hospitals in large cities.

By the end of 2025, every third citizen whom the authorities recognized as a “foreign agent” was subject to criminal prosecution in russia.

In 2025, 341 minors were added to the rosfinmonitoring register of “terrorists and extremists”. This is twice as many as last year, when 161 teenagers were added to the list, and six times more than in 2023. Overall, the number of minors included in the register in 2025 was higher than in the previous six years combined (341 versus 304).

Tatarstan and Omsk region have joined the regions where the killing of stray animals is permitted. The law on euthanasia of stray animals is now in force in almost 30 regions of the rf.

The share of vacant space in shopping centers in st. petersburg increased by 1.6 points over the year and reached 4.7 %. Despite the large number of vacant spaces available for rent, rental rates for shopping centers are forecast to grow by 4-5 % in 2026.

Investments in st. petersburg real estate almost halved to 100 billion rubles over the year.

Prices for new buildings in the city of moscow and moscow region have risen by at least 11 % compared to 2024.

The Transbaikal Territory Parliament has passed a draft law on reducing social benefits. In particular, from January 1, 2026, monthly compensation for housing and communal services for families of doctors, pharmacists, teachers, and employees of cultural institutions who had worked in rural areas for at least 10 years and retired will be abolished. The same applies to relatives of deceased teachers, medical workers, and librarians if the pension was the only source of income in the families. Residents of the Transbaikal Territory pay above-average utility bills due to the cold climate. In 2026, tariffs will be doubled: in January and October, with a total increase of 14.1 %. Previously, indexation was carried out in July, when utility services in the region rose in price by an average of 13.6 %. In addition, unemployed pensioners in Transbaikalia will no longer be compensated for 85 % of the cost of sanatorium vouchers. The reduction in benefits is taking place against the background of a budget deficit in the Transbaikal Territory. In 2025, the regional treasury deficit reached 11.4 billion rubles, and next year it is projected to increase to 12 billion rubles.

A sports school collapsed in the village of Kolyvan in Novosibirsk region. At this, every fourth school in russia needs major repairs. In total, there are 508 schools in the country that are in disrepair.

In their report, Government AI Readiness Index, researchers from the Oxford Insights analytical center assessed the readiness of governments in 195 countries to implement and use artificial intelligence (AI) in public processes, economy, and society. In belarus, the situation is more than sad. It is the worst in Europe based on a combination of all parameters, including institutional capacity, governance and regulation, AI infrastructure, AI implementation in the public sector, AI development and dissemination, and sustainability. belarus ranks 121st in the world, between Cape Verde and Trinidad and Tobago.

The ministry of information of the rb has updated its list of “extremist materials”. It now includes the sticker-pack “chik-chirik” (used as a humorous nickname for lukashenko) on Telegram and a website with a list of political prisoners from the “Viasna” Human Rights Center.